Welcome to IEA Wind Member Country Activities for Austria

Wind power development has great potential in Austria again after four years of stagnation from 2006 to the beginning of 2010. Due to the new feed-in-tariff for 2010 and 2011 (0.097 €/kWh; 0.130 USD/kWh) eight wind turbines with a total capacity of 16 MW were built in 2010.

The feed-in-tariff for 2011 was fixed (0.097 €/kWh; 0.130 USD/kWh) for projects that apply for a purchase agreement by the end of 2011. The feed-in tariff is set by an ordinance of the Ministry for Economic Affairs and not fixed in the Green Electricity Act (GEA) itself. The tariff is applicable only for the year 2011, bringing some uncertainty for investors. The purchase obligation is limited to a specific amount of capacity (depending on the available funds for new projects).

At the beginning of 2011 there were 625 wind turbines in Austria with a total capacity of 1,011 MW. These turbines are producing 2.1 TWh of electricity, which is a share of 3.9% of Austrian electricity production and energy for approximately 600,000 households. In 2011, we expect added installation of 120 MW. A total of 800 MW of capacity have already obtained all planning permits and have applied for a contract (granting the feed-in-tariff) at Ökostromabwicklungsstelle OeMAG and will be built in the next years.