Austria Opens €12M Funding Round For Solar PV & Storage

Austria’s Ministry of Economic Affairs has opened the 2nd funding call for the year 2026 under the Renewable Energy Expansion Act (EAG), offering €12 million in investment grants for solar PV and energy storage.  

Under the call, PV systems up to 10 kW are eligible for €150 per kW subsidy, while systems between 10 kW and 20 kW can receive €140 per kW. Larger projects (>20 kW) will compete through a bidding process based on funding requirements. Standalone batter storage projects are not eligible for funding in this round.  

The government will also continue its “Made-in-Europe” bonus for projects using European-made components under this round. Subsidy amount can increase by 10% for using such components which was initially proposed as 20% (see Austria To Offer ‘Made In Europe’ Bonus For Solar & Storage).  

Currently 46% of all PV applications include European inverters, added State Secretary for Energy Elisabeth Zehetner. She shared that upcoming amendments to the EAG will make European inverters mandatory.  

“This strengthens our cybersecurity , reduces dependencies, and ensures that more value creation remains in Europe. The energy transition must not only be clean, it must also be secure, resilient, and economically sound,” explained Zehetner.   

The Energy also Secretary said the goal is to make solar expansion more efficient by ensuring electricity is available when and where it is needed. She said the new approach focuses on smarter integration of generation, storage, and consumption rather than simply increasing solar capacity.  

The announcement for the 2nd funding round follows exceptionally strong demand during the 1st funding round of 2026 for which the ministry received nearly 29,000 applications of which around 90% included battery storage. Funding requests reached about €135 million. In response, authorities increased the original €40 million budget by €30 million, bringing total funding for the round to €70 million.  

Officials view the strong interest in storage as an important step toward balancing electricity supply and demand, particularly as solar generation continues to expand in the country.  

Austria has also seen a rise in periods of negative electricity prices, recording about 450 hours last year. According to Zehetner, this highlights the need for more storage capacity, stronger grids, and greater system flexibility to manage surplus renewable energy.  

Stressing the need to incorporate storage, Zehetner said, “When it rains heavily, you don't let the water run unused down the drain, but collect it. And when it's dry later, you use it for watering plants. That's exactly how we need to handle solar power in the future: If there's a lot of cheap PV electricity available at midday, we store it. And when cooking, washing machines are running, or businesses need electricity in the evening, we use it again. This way, electricity that would otherwise create pressure on the system becomes reliable energy.” 

The application period runs from June 16 to June 30, 2026 with the ticket draw starting on June 16 at 5 pm. Details are available on the dedicated EAG website.   

A 3rd funding round is scheduled for October 8 to October 22, 2026, with a budget of €8 million for solar and storage projects.