• Austria is proposing to implement 100,000 solar rooftops systems and small storage program
  • The program will rope in only residential segment, helping home owners become solar energy producers
  • The government has proposed to abolish a tax on self-generation of electricity
  • It wants to back community solar and commercial rooftop PV projects as well
  • The #mission2030 plan is open for consultation and feedback from interested stakeholders

The Austrian government plans to implement 100,000 rooftop solar power systems in the country in an effort to become a 100% renewable energy consuming country by the year 2030.

As part of a draft plan, Elisabeth Köstinger, Federal Minister for Sustainability and Tourism and Norbert Hofer, Federal Minister of Transport, Information and Technology, presented the 100,000 solar roofs target for residential segment. The proposed plan is titled #mission2030.

There are currently about 125,000 PV systems in Austria that generate 1096 GWh of electricity per year. The plan proposes that all residential rooftop owners can become solar energy producers, generating clean energy on their own with the help of rooftop PV systems and storage. “Every house should become a small power plant, and it must be possible for every home builder to produce the electricity he needs,” said Köstinger. “In terms of total energy demand, we want to increase the share of renewable resources from the current 35% to 45-50%.”

For the 100,000 solar roofs and storage program, the report argues in favor of investment support. At the same time, it advocates a tax on own electricity generation be ended; obstacles to generating investment for residential solar should be done away with. It also wants to encourage community solar and commercial rooftop PV projects.

However, the content of the presentation ‘disappointed’ independent environmental Austrian NGO Global 2000. In a strongly worded statement, Johannes Wahlmüller of Global 2000 said, “This draft contains many phrases but little content, the targets are not compatible with the Paris Agreement on climate change, nor are the EU’s climate goals, and there is no clear path to fossil-fuel withdrawal by 2050, concrete measures such as ecological Tax reform and adequate financing of the projects…”

On the other hand, PV association Photovoltaic Austria (PVA) has welcomed the new plan for its focus on PV but it did rue the fact that the proposed draft does not explain how the 100,000 rooftop PV plan can be implemented.

The #mission2030 plan is open for consultation and feedback from interested stakeholders. A final version is planned to be published in June.