150 megawatts of solar energy reached at the beginning of the year – Wien Energie supplies a total of around 730,000 Viennese households with green electricity
Vienna (OTS) – Wien Energie has strongly pushed the expansion of renewable energies in 2023: The energy service provider has implemented around 60 photovoltaic systems, around 50 of which directly in Vienna. In addition, Wien Energie has acquired a new hydroelectric power plant and another is under construction. In the area of wind power, the company has also increased the further development of existing power plants and continued planning three wind farms. In total, all of Wien Energie’s renewable electricity systems can supply up to 730,000 Viennese households with green electricity every year.
“We want to produce a total output of 1,000 megawatts of green electricity for Vienna by 2030. Wien Energie is therefore investing a total of 740 million euros in expanding renewable electricity generation by 2028. We have set ourselves the goal of continually increasing the pace of our expansion, particularly in the area of photovoltaics. There are currently around 300 photovoltaic systems being planned for the next few years,” explains Michael Strebl, Chairman of the Wien Energie Management Board.
Wien Energie is increasing the pace of expansion of solar power plants
Including the commissioning of the photovoltaic systems by the end of January, the company has a total output of 150 megawatts (MW) of solar energy. Of this, over 60 MW were realized in the last two years alone. Wien Energie is thus increasing the pace of expansion. As of the beginning of January, the company operates a total of around 430 photovoltaic systems and remains the largest solar power system operator in Austria.
A unique project was implemented last year as part of the City of Vienna’s solar power offensive. The Vienna town hall received a photovoltaic system. The special thing about it: The modules were placed along the sloping roof towards the inner courtyard, which made it possible to combine the requirements of monument protection and local green electricity generation. In collaboration with the City of Vienna, Wien Energie has also equipped numerous other buildings with photovoltaic systems. These include, among others, the Vienna Museum, municipal buildings from Wiener Wohnen and the Shopping Center Nord with the largest photovoltaic system on the roofs in Vienna.
In addition to the roof areas, suitable open spaces have also been significantly expanded with solar power plants. The largest open-space photovoltaic system in Vienna in the 22nd district has been expanded. The expansion outside Vienna has also progressed: two open-air photovoltaic areas with a total output of around 30 megawatts have been created on 14 hectares each in Styria – in the municipalities of Gosdorf and Ratten.
The expansion will continue to progress quickly in the new year: numerous projects with an output of over 38 megawatts are scheduled to be built in 2024. Wien Energie is planning, among other things, to build the city’s largest photovoltaic carport in the parking lot of the Simmering power plant and to implement Europe’s largest organic photovoltaic system at the beginning of the year.
Three new wind farms are being planned
In the area of wind energy, Wien Energie is also constantly working on renewing existing systems and expanding new ones.
In 2023, Wien Energie, in cooperation with Burgenland Energie, repowered the Pama wind farm and built two modern, powerful wind turbines with a total of 8.4 megawatts. Wien Energie has also started wind measurements at the Lehmberg site in Salzburg together with Salzburg AG. In addition, Wien Energie also carries out wind measurements at Pongrazer Kogel in Styria. The measurements are scheduled to take place over a period of just over a year. The aim of these measurements is to collect reliable data about local wind conditions and wind conditions at different altitudes.
The construction of three additional wind farms is planned in the coming years: In Lower Austria, Wien Energie is planning to build a wind farm in Ebreichsdorf. The energy service provider wants to build the Steinriegel III and Gruberkogel wind farm in Styria.
The Pusterwaldbach hydroelectric power plant will go into operation in 2024
Wien Energie currently operates 25 hydroelectric power plants in Austria and a further 50 in neighboring countries. In addition, Wien Energie has investments in large Danube power plants. In the future, this form of energy will remain an important component in the area of generation from renewable sources, which is why Wien Energie is continually expanding its own power plant portfolio.
Last autumn, Wien Energie acquired a five megawatt hydroelectric power plant in Mühlbach, Salzburg. It is the westernmost power plant in the company’s portfolio. The plant, located in the Kitzbühel Alps, is particularly notable for its fall height. With a height difference of 320 meters between the weir system and the power house – comparable to the height of the Bisamberg in Vienna – a new height record in the Wien Energie portfolio is broken. The efficient high-pressure system produces electricity for the equivalent of around 4,600 Salzburg households.
Last year, construction began on a new hydroelectric power plant in Pusterwald, Styria. This is a two-megawatt small hydroelectric power plant that will go into operation in autumn 2024. In addition to carefully embedding it in the valley landscape, a modern fish and organism migration aid is also being built.
Questions & Contact:
Clarissa Hoebinger
Press officer for Vienna Energy
Tel.: 0664/88481303
clarissa.hoebinger@wienenergie.at