Austria's energy minister wants changes in renewables support scheme

Sep 19, 2013 - Austria's Energy Minister Reinhold Mitterlehner believes the country's renewable energy support system should be revised and geared more towards investment incentives and increased degressivity in terms of tariffs.

Speaking with journalists at the start of utility Verbund's convention Energy 2050, the minister said yesterday that the promotion of electricity from renewables will be kept but the load should be shifted. According to him, photovoltaics (PV) should be the focus of such changes but they can also affect the wind sector, whose potential for expansion is also being slowly exhausted. Therefore the subsidies could be lowered. Mitterlehner said the real question is whether a return of 10%, which the investors in renewables can achieve, is really a necessity. Whether a quota model would work in the country will be considered after the general elections.

The minister reckons that there should be uniform regulations of the electricity sector in the whole of Europe in order to return the balance between demand and supply, which was distorted by Germany's decision for an energy turnaround. The fact that energy generation continues to be a national matter is problematic as the decisions of a single country affect other countries, Mitterlehner said. He expects an increased alignment on the market but under clear rules.

According to Mitterlehner, energy prices should be reduced and he expects a downward trend in terms of natural gas.

Following the forthcoming general elections in Austria at the end of September, a new model of energy efficiency should be sought, the minister said.

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