SPÖ question to Stelzer

Is the province neglecting its own solar strategy?

In April 2021, LH Stelzer (right) and State Councillor for Energy Markus Achleitner presented the "Photovoltaic Strategy 2030".

(Bild: Land OÖ/Max Mayrhofer)

Three years ago, the provincial governor and the provincial energy councillor presented an ambitious strategy for the expansion of photovoltaics. The roofs of state-owned buildings were also to be equipped with PV systems. The SPÖ suspects that the project has recently run out of steam and is demanding information.

Three years ago, the province launched the "Upper Austrian Photovoltaic Strategy 2030". Among other things, it formulated the goal of increasing the PV capacity on state-owned buildings fivefold from around three gigawatt hours (GWh) to 15 GWh by 2030.

Only one system in two years?
However, SPÖ energy spokesperson Thomas Antlinger is now expressing concerns that the state is neglecting its own strategy. According to a list presented by LH Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP) in January, not a single PV system was put into operation on a provincial building last year. In 2022, there was just one.

This is not true, the governor's office told the "Krone" - they say there has been a misunderstanding. The list presented by Stelzer refers to plants that - for various reasons - were out of operation for longer than two months and were then put back into operation. In fact, three new systems were put into operation in 2022, twelve in the previous year and 14 so far this year. Another one - on the roof of the Peuerbach road maintenance depot - is planned. 

Budget cuts for PV expansion?
"PV systems on provincial buildings are an important part of the transformation of the energy supply, which is why we are consistently pushing ahead with the expansion," says Stelzer, who is sticking to the 15 GWh plan formulated for 2030. Antlinger is not convinced: "The planned expansion requires an additional 24 million euros, but LH Stelzer recently spoke of a possible impending austerity package amounting to half a billion euros." This would lead to fears of budget cuts for the expansion of PV systems on provincial properties in 2025.

In a new request, he is now demanding information on the current implementation of the strategy - especially as, according to Stelzer, the proportion of electricity from renewable energies in Upper Austria fell from 84 to 72 percent between September 2022 and January 2024. Stelzer must provide answers to the request by November 11.