Photovoltaics (PV) is a central component of the future electricity system in Austria. At the same time, the PV boom is pushing the grids to their limits. As part of the Austrian Energy Trend Forum at the end of November, the energy industry discussed the possibilities and challenges of photovoltaics in Austria. In addition to network expansion, it was about behavior that benefits the network, the potential of storage and rethinking funding.
Barbara Schmidt, Secretary General of Oesterreichs Energie, started the last trend forum in 2024 with a call: “The government negotiations have started. Now is the time to get involved. We have to show that both transforming the energy system and strengthening the business location are possible. When integrating renewables into the grid, we have to proceed as intelligently as possible in order to keep costs as low as possible.” A solution-oriented discussion was also the focus of the trend forum, which dealt with the interaction between PV expansion and grid integration.
This year alone, the expansion of photovoltaics (PV) worldwide amounted to 450 gigawatts – which corresponds approximately to the annual consumption in Germany. Just a few years ago, many would have thought this increase was impossible, said Franz Angerer, Managing Director of the Austrian Energy Agency, who presented suggestions as part of his keynote speech on how these enormous amounts of electricity could be better integrated into the grid.
Network usefulness must go hand in hand with expansion
Michael Strugl, President of Oesterreichs Energie, spoke out in favor of a holistic view: “We are coming from a situation in which, due to a price crisis, there has been incredible motivation to install PV on our own roofs – which is fundamentally positive. Now we need to look at the system with a holistic approach. It makes no sense to expand the networks for three days a year; it has to be economically viable.”
“We have to think about all the options to reduce the power peaks of PV generation,” Angerer also emphasized and named the expansion of decentralized energy storage, dynamic power regulation or a bonus-malus system for reduced grid connection power as possible measures in this context.
Include new potential in the calculation
The expansion potential of photovoltaics has increased significantly in recent years due to major technological leaps and lower costs. In order to make good use of this potential, storage options are needed, said Hubert Fechner, chairman of the Austrian Photovoltaics Technology Platform: “PV peaks have no place in the network. However, we need to pay more attention to storage developments. We assume that these will become significantly cheaper and larger in the future. This opens up new opportunities for us to better integrate photovoltaics into our electricity system without increasing the costs of grid expansion.”
Vera Immitzer, Managing Director of Photovoltaic Austria, welcomed the studies and suggestions for PV expansion, but regretted that they could not be incorporated into the preparation of the Electricity Industry Act (ElWG). She also criticized the fact that the law has not yet been passed. “This would give us more opportunities to sensibly integrate PV into the existing network.” The industry representative did not categorically reject capping the generation peaks – but this must be done dynamically and adapted to the actual network conditions.
Take companies and private people with you
Fechner and Angerer also emphasized the usefulness of funding. In the interests of system utility, they spoke out in favor of an increasing shift towards storage. Andreas Thöni, Head of Group Strategy, Digital & Innovation at Österreichische Post AG, contributed the customer’s perspective on photovoltaics. Because one thing is clear: In the end, investing in photovoltaic systems has to pay off for private individuals and companies. Uniform, stable and unbureaucratic framework conditions make a significant contribution to developing business cases that are scalable and transferable.
Clear commitment to decarbonization required
Regarding the necessary political framework, all panel participants agreed: a clear commitment to decarbonization and a stable transformation path are needed. This also includes the rapid implementation of the still outstanding Electricity Industry Act as a legal basis as well as clear framework conditions for more planning security and more speed in the digitalization of the networks and the entire system.