Amendment to the law

From 188 to 3000 hectares: Land facilitates PV construction

Solar power on up to four hectares of open space should be possible without dedication

(Bild: Christian schulter)

Energy transition, energy independence and climate change: a variety of crises have strengthened the trend towards renewable energies. The legal framework has not yet been able to cope with this. With a new amendment to the law, the state wants to rapidly accelerate the expansion of photovoltaics.

The state of Carinthia has been one of the strictest in Austria when it comes to approving PV areas. However, after lengthy negotiations, the coalition partners of the SPÖ and ÖVP have now put together an "energy transition law". "This amendment to the law, together with the new photovoltaic ordinance, is an important step towards heralding a turnaround in Carinthia's energy policy," says Martin Gruber, Vice-President of the provincial government. 

SP energy spokesman Christof Seymann, provincial vice-chairman Martin Gruber and LR Sebastian Schuschnig present the energy amendment.

(Bild: LPD Kärnten)

The amendment could come into force as early as the summer and includes, among other things, the elimination of dedications for new solar power systems with an area of up to one hundred square meters. This also includes PV areas in private gardens, parking lots, courtyards, municipal buildings, barracks, hospitals and landfills as well as railways and cable cars. "With this step, Carinthia has up to 3,000 hectares of potential space at its disposal," explains Gruber. Carinthia currently has a modular area of 188.6 hectares. 

The dual use of areas in the sense of agri-PV systems is made possible

(Bild: Photovoltaic Austria)

The implementation of ground-mounted systems will also be made easier - projects with a total area of up to four hectares will no longer require dedication in future. So-called agri-PV areas will also be made possible. These provide for the dual use of areas - for example, chickens can be kept under a system. Gruber: "This also opens up another source of income for farmers."

We don't want to pave over the countryside with photovoltaics, but we do want to facilitate implementation where it makes sense.

Landeshauptmannstellvertreter Martin Gruber

The "Energy Transition Act" and the Photovoltaic Ordinance would significantly accelerate the expansion in Carinthia and considerably reduce the number of procedures, according to Provincial Councillor Sebastian Schuschnig. In future, the public interest in the expansion of renewable energies will take precedence over other assessments in the procedure. To this end, the approval permit will be increased from the previous five kWp to 500 kWp. "We are thus putting a stop to unnecessary bureaucracy. Every second procedure will be eliminated as a result," says Schuschnig, who emphasizes, however, that this is only a first step towards the energy transition in Carinthia.

Energy requirements are being surveyed
A demand forecast is currently being carried out to determine how much energy is needed in Carinthia, when and where. "In order to achieve the EU's goals and energy independence, we will need a mix of hydro, solar and wind power," says Schuschnig. The topic of wind power must therefore move away from "a religious-sounding discussion of faith and needs a scientifically sound basis", says Schuschnig. 

The expansion of renewable energy poses new challenges for the electricity grid

(Bild: P. Huber)

The expansion of renewable energy will go hand in hand with the expansion of the supply grid, in consultation with the grid operators. Large PV areas are a particular challenge, as private systems are primarily intended to fulfill the purpose of self-supply. 

No solar power on protected areas
In any case, the federal targets are clear - twelve terawatt hours of electricity are to come from clean generation by 2030. "If we only use 20 percent of the 3,000 hectares available, we can achieve an output of six gigawatt hours," calculates SP energy spokesperson Christof Seymann. PV systems would mainly have to be installed on areas that are already sealed. Nature conservation areas and areas threatened by natural disasters are taboo.

Wind energy is being discussed in Carinthia - the FP is against expansion on the Carinthian mountains

(Bild: Manuel Schwaiger)

FP leader and club chairman Erwin Angerer welcomes the administrative streamlining through the change in the law - but nevertheless urges caution in its implementation: "I appeal to those responsible not to subordinate nature and agricultural considerations to the interests of some large corporations." Above all, wind turbines on the mountains should continue to be consistently rejected. Team Kärnten sees a paradigm shift and the fulfillment of a long-standing demand in the new amendment to the law: "Carinthia has overslept and prevented a lot, especially in the expansion of photovoltaics, and has left a lot of potential unused," says TK boss Gerhard Köfer.