A large section of the Austrian solar PV industry expects the order situation improving to good to very good in 2023 as per the solar industry association's Bundesverband Photovoltaic Austria's (PV Austria) annual member survey. But they anticipate challenges in terms of supply bottlenecks, grid access, and lack of skilled workers to continue to bog the industry down, along with bureaucratic hurdles.
According to the survey responses from more than 400 PV Austria members, supply chain challenge is the topmost problem the industry is facing, followed by network availability and lack of skilled manpower.
Looking towards 2030, the PV industry sees supply chain bottlenecks to become 'less demanding', however these aren't likely to go away entirely. Nonetheless, companies hope that as grid access for projects improve going forward, situation should get better.
"The industry survey shows very clearly where there is a need for action in the coming years lies, because both in the facilitation of network access, the dismantling of the bureaucracy and eliminating the shortage of skilled workers," said PV Austria's Managing Director Vera Immitzer. "It is all the more important to overcome known hurdles quickly to be eliminated in order to ensure further expansion."
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the country installed 765 MW new solar in 2022 taking its cumulative installed PV capacity to 3.548 GW. However, that estimate seems way too low. The Austrian Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler said during SolarPower Europe's SolarPower Summit in March that between 1.1 GW and 1.4 GW was installed in 2023, turning the country for the first time into a GW-scale market.
Things should get better going forward as the Austrian Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK) plans to fund solar PV and storage capacity with €600 million through 4 calls in 2023 (see Austria Announces Auction Timeline For Solar Funding).
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