Statistics on renewable energies in Austria

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Statistics on renewable energies in Austria

Important note: The PDF is password protected.
Please get in contact with me. Of course, the PDF is free of charge. Important note: The PDF is password protected. Please contact me. Of course the PDF is free of charge.

German version – To see the PDF, please click on the image below.
German Version – To view the PDF, please click on the image below.

Austria's climate and energy strategy commits to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 46 percent by 2030 compared to 2005. To achieve this goal, the share of renewable energies in gross final energy consumption is to increase, among other measures, first to 34 percent by 2020 and then to between 45 and 50 percent by 2030. At the same time, total electricity consumption is to be covered by domestic renewable energy sources. Renewable energies are defined as energy sources that regenerate relatively quickly compared to fossil fuels; these include hydropower, wind power, solar energy, biogenic energy sources, and geothermal energy.

Importance in Energy Supply:
Renewable energies already play a significant role in Austria's energy supply. In 2019, renewable energies accounted for over 83 percent of Austria's primary energy production, and their share of final energy consumption was around 33.4 percent (2018). Hydropower and wood fuels are the renewable energy sources with the largest share. Further information on the structure of the energy mix can be found on the topic page about the energy market in Austria.

Importance in Electricity Supply:
Renewable energies are of central importance for electricity generation in Austria. Their share already exceeded 72 percent in 2017. Hydropower also makes the largest contribution among renewables in electricity generation, accounting for over 60 percent in 2018. Total electricity generation from hydropower amounted to approximately 38,400 gigawatt-hours in 2017. The previous peak for electricity generation from hydropower in Austria was reached in 2012 with 43.8 terawatt-hours. Further details on this important energy source for Austria can be found on the topic page "Hydropower in Austria".

Wind power,
alongside hydropower, is a significantly smaller but nonetheless important factor in Austria's energy supply. The cumulative rated capacity of all wind turbines in Austria is continuously increasing. However, the annually installed capacity of wind turbines shows that expansion has slowed. In 2018, turbines with a capacity of 230 megawatts were added, and an increase of 209 megawatts is expected for 2019.

Photovoltaics:
Generating energy from solar radiation is becoming increasingly important in Austria. In 2018, the installed capacity of photovoltaic systems reached approximately 1.44 gigawatts. The annual increase amounted to about 168.8 megawatts. In total, around 5.18 petajoules of electricity were generated by photovoltaics in Austria in 2018.

Economic indicators:
In 2017, solid biomass generated the highest revenue in the renewable energy sector in Austria, followed by hydropower and wind power. A similar distribution is reflected in the number of employees in the renewable energy sector in Austria. The expansion of renewable energies in Austria is promoted, among other things, by the Green Electricity Act, which includes a mandatory purchase obligation at fixed feed-in tariffs.

Statistics on the electricity market in Austria

Important note: The PDF is password protected.
Please get in contact with me. Of course, the PDF is free of charge. Important note: The PDF is password protected. Please contact me. Of course the PDF is free of charge.

German version – To see the PDF, please click on the image below.
German Version – To view the PDF, please click on the image below.

In Austria, a large portion of the electricity supply is already secured by renewable energy sources; in 2017, their share of electricity consumption was 72.2 percent. According to the climate and energy strategy, the entire electricity demand is to be met by renewable energy sources by 2030. In 2018, final electricity consumption amounted to 66.37 terawatt-hours; taking into account the power plants' own consumption and transmission losses, total domestic electricity consumption was 71.8 terawatt-hours. Electricity exports of approximately 19.13 terawatt-hours and around 5.12 terawatt-hours for the operation of pumped-storage power plants further contributed to this figure. In total, 96.06 terawatt-hours of electrical energy were thus used.

At the same time, Austria produced approximately 68 terawatt-hours of electricity. To meet demand, an additional 28.08 terawatt-hours of electricity were imported. Since 2001, the electricity trade balance has thus been consistently positive, meaning Austria imports more electricity than it exports. Compared to the previous year, however, the trade volume decreased.

Besides hydroelectric power plants, natural gas power plants and wind turbines are the main sources of electricity production in Austria. Photovoltaic systems, on the other hand, accounted for only about 1.2 percent of gross electricity generation in 2018, and coal is also used for electricity generation relatively infrequently compared to other countries.

On the consumer side, it is evident that electricity demand, particularly in large-scale industry, has increased in recent years, rising by approximately 4.1 terawatt-hours between 2008 and 2018. Household consumption also increased significantly. In 2018, they used approximately 14.55 terawatt-hours, representing an increase of about 1.59 terawatt-hours compared to 2008. Other small consumers and medium-sized industrial companies were able to reduce their electricity consumption during the same period.

The electricity market in Austria has been liberalized since 2001. A significant increase in electricity provider switches has been recorded since 2014. While a maximum of just under 73,500 households switched their electricity provider up to and including 2013, this number had risen to approximately 209,000 by 2018. This corresponded to a switching rate of about 4.2 percent.

Statistics on the energy market in Austria

Important note: The PDF is password protected.
Please get in contact with me. Of course, the PDF is free of charge. Important note: The PDF is password protected. Please contact me. Of course the PDF is free of charge.

German version – To see the PDF, please click on the image below.
German Version – To view the PDF, please click on the image below.

Austria's climate and energy strategy envisions a phase-out of fossil fuels by 2050. By 2030, the share of renewable energies is to be increased to 45 to 50 percent, energy efficiency improved by 25 to 30 percent, and the net share of renewable energy in electricity production is to reach 100 percent.

Domestic energy production in 2019 was approximately 516 petajoules, representing another increase compared to the previous year and following the long-term trend. The structure of energy sources used already illustrates a decline in fossil fuels and a significant increase in renewable energies.

Austria cannot currently meet its own energy needs; final energy consumption in 2019 amounted to approximately 1,141 petajoules. Consequently, Austria is dependent on energy imports, totaling around 1,327 petajoules in 2018. Fossil fuels dominate these imports, accounting for about 90 percent of all energy imports.

The breakdown by consumption type reveals the high demand of the transport sector. It alone accounts for over a third of Austria's energy consumption. Other sectors with high energy consumption include manufacturing and private households.

In Austria, there are approximately 2,500 companies operating in the energy supply sector. Besides OMV AG, other important companies include Verbund AG and Wien Energie GmbH.

Suitable for:

• Statistics on the subject of photovoltaics and the energy transition in Germany
• Statistics on renewable energies in Switzerland