Austria Installed 341 MW New Solar In 2020

• PV Austria estimates the annual solar PV capacity addition in Austria for 2020 to be 341 MW
• It shows an annual growth of 38%, taking total installed PV capacity of the country to over 2 GW at the end of 2020
• The association wants the government to have more ambitious targets for PV if it is to reach national climate and energy targets for 2030 or 2040

The Photovoltaic Austria Federal Association (PV Austria) says in 2020 the Austrian market saw new solar PV installations of 341 MW, divided as 340.34 MW of grid connected and 500 kW for self-consumption capacity. It reflects an annual growth of over 38% for the year 2020.

It takes total installed capacity of the country till the end of 2020 to 2.043 GW, representing an annual increase of 20% over 1.7 GW in 2019 when annual addition was 247 MW.

While 341 MW addition in 2020 shows growth over previous years, the association believes annual electricity production from PV would have to be increased from 2.0 TWh in 2020 to 11.3 TWh in 2030.

According to the association, the current market development is not at all sufficient for reaching the national energy and climate targets for 2030 or 2040, referring to all renewable energy in the country. For solar PV, in 2021 alone it argues the capacity would need to increase by a factor of 2.7 to reach the targets.

"From 2025 at the latest, three times as many systems will have to be built each year as now. In the following years up to 5 times as many systems. To do this, we in Austria finally need a reliable funding framework in order to multiply the momentum," said PV Austria's Managing Director Vera Immitzer while referring to the much-delayed Renewable Expansion Act (EAG) (see Austria Presents Draft Renewable Expansion Law).

The association wants it to be cleared and adopted legally before the current regulatory framework of Green Electricity Act comes to an end.

The association also recommends focus on development of building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems in Austria, as it is not only a high value addition space, but its integration will also factor in systemic aspects of optimal use of locally generated electricity.

According to the EU Market Outlook for Solar Power 2020-2024 of SolarPower Europe, Austria aims for 9.722 GW of cumulative solar PV capacity by 2030 under its National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). However, the European solar PV lobby association believes the NECP lacks a proper evaluation of the administrative challenges and ambition in remedy measures, in particular for larger scale PV (see SolarPower Europe Says EU Added 18.2 GW Solar In 2020).