MFG-Aigner: “Citizens were duped when it came to PV systems!”
A fundamentally sensible energy mix of gas, hydroelectric power plants and other renewable energies is needed, which must not come at the expense of people.
LAbg. Joachim Aigner, MFG-Austria federal party chairman
PV systems seemed to be the big future concept that would solve all energy problems. The market is currently crumbling and it turns out that solar energy may not be the big market of the future after all. The most recent example is the turbulence at the Upper Austrian technology group Fronius, where 350 employees have to leave. Among those suffering from the PV offensive are tens of thousands of citizens who were clearly duped by Energie AG.
Fronius produces inverters for photovoltaic systems, and now the completely overheated market, which has probably been bred with a lot of misinformation, is collapsing. A clear indication is the increase in bankruptcies in the PV industry: According to the Credit Protection Association of 1870, there were 82 bankruptcies across Austria last year – and this year this development is likely to intensify with 54 bankruptcies already.
Energie AG had previously terminated the photovoltaic feed-in contracts of around 20,000 customers. These were previously guaranteed at least 15.73 cents per kWh, but in the new contracts to be concluded, customers only receive 3.12 cents – i.e. less than a fifth of the previous amount: “House builders were rushed into expensive investments in PV systems and then Left out in the cold by Energie AG, that is an absolute mess and just one example of many untruths that are being used to sell the so-called ‘energy transition’ to people,” says LAbg. Joachim Aigner, MFG-Austria federal party chairman.
Endlessly long amortization periods
But it goes even deeper: the minimum payment at Energie AG is only 2 cents per kWh. LAbg. Manuel Krautgartner, MFG-OÖ Klubobmann: “At these prices, PV systems will only pay for themselves after 25 years at the earliest, and with ongoing inflation perhaps even later. Only a short time ago we were talking about ten to a maximum of 15 years.”
The problem (which has been known for a long time): The PV systems produce far too much electricity at peak times (during the day and when the sun is shining), which has to be sold on the international electricity market at dumping prices. The losers are Energie AG’s customers, who were given hopes that have now not been fulfilled and who, based on these false hopes, invested large amounts in PV systems.
Energie AG: Profits on the backs of customers
There are additional figures that make you angry: Energie AG – actually a public utility – achieved an EBIT of 218.5 million euros in the 2022/23 financial year – an increase of around 45 percent. A “success story” that came about on the backs of consumers. It is also a fact: many citizens were driven into investing in PV systems by the completely senseless and useless Russia sanctions and then left hanging by Energie AG.
China as a contributor to the crisis
Another reason for the many bankruptcies on the PV market are cheap imports from China – the very country that operates 55 nuclear power plants and is currently building 26 more and has 1,200 coal-fired power plants in operation (on average, two coal-fired power plants are approved and operated in China per week China 106 coal mines). “And our people are told that they are saving the world with expensive, no-alternative PV systems on their roofs,” says Joachim Aigner.
Renewable energies only work in a mix
The narrative that renewable energies are the only true thing is simply not true – and it doesn’t work that way: “The many experts have obviously never heard of the base load, an enormous surplus of electricity on sunny days doesn’t help us,” says Manuel Krautgartner. “A fundamentally sensible energy mix of gas, hydroelectric power plants and other renewable energies is needed, which must not come at the expense of people.
And above all: finally get out of the Russia sanctions!” adds Joachim Aigner.
And where is the security of supply?
The issue of security of supply and grid stability is also completely ignored when it comes to renewable energies. Possible large-scale so-called “blackouts” can trigger unrest and even civil wars: “Absolutism and blinkered politics lead to unaffordability and ruin. Germany is currently showing us this. Do we really want that?” asks Manuel Krautgartner.
Questions & Contact:
MFG Austria
(+43 732) 93167 6500
presse@mfg-oe.at
https://www.mfg-oe.at/