2023-09-27 08:04:05
LAbg. Ecker: “Lower Austria is increasingly becoming a blocker of the energy transition”
St. Pölten (OTS) – At the last state parliament session, the Greens called for a rapid expansion of photovoltaics in Lower Austria’s commercial areas. “If you walk through the business parks and supermarket parking lots with your eyes open, you will see asphalt and empty roofs – and hardly any photovoltaic systems,” says LAbg. Georg Ecker, business spokesman for the Greens. He therefore initiated a resolution requesting the state government and in particular the state’s own business agency ecoplus to drastically increase the use of sealed areas in business parks through photovoltaics. However, this was rejected by the government majority. “ÖVP and FPÖ in Lower Austria want to continue to see asphalt and empty roofs. Since they are also slowing down the expansion of wind power, agri-PV and grid expansion, this can only mean one thing: The state government still wants as much unsafe and expensive gas from Russia and oil from Saudi Arabia as possible instead of domestic, cheaper energy sources“.
Ecker is convinced that an organized and joint purchase and expansion of PV systems by ecoplus would also represent a win-win situation for local companies. “This makes the modules and assembly significantly cheaper and might be carried out more quickly than if each company had to deal with the planning, assembly and purchase themselves,” says Ecker. The ÖVP would not only block the energy transition, but would also increasingly question its status as a business party. “Our companies, especially the energy-intensive ones, will be most helped if we finally get away from unsafe and expensive fossil raw materials and take our energy supply with wind and PV into our own hands,” says Ecker.
The Greens wanted to implement the following points with their proposal:
1. When drawing up the spatial planning program in accordance with Section 11a, to stipulate as far as possible an obligation to install photovoltaic systems on sealed areas in the case of new rededications or new buildings
2. To ecoplus. Lower Austria’s business agency GmbH should be approached in order to promptly implement the following elements in their own area of activity:
a. Offer and joint purchase of photovoltaic systems for all companies in ecoplus – business parks in Lower Austria.
b. When selling, leasing or renting new areas in ecoplus business parks, it must be specified that sealed areas must be equipped with photovoltaic systems.
c. Expansion of own PV capacities in ecoplus – business parks on properties owned by ecoplus as well as on common areas owned by ecoplus (e.g. parking spaces, embankments, etc.)
d. If there is a lack of network capacity, the network operator must be requested immediately to increase the network capacity for the affected ecoplus business park in accordance with the requirements through new photovoltaic systems;
e. Establishment of energy communities with large energy storage systems in order to increase the utilization rate of the PV systems in a park for all companies located there.
Questions & Contact:
Michael Pinnow
Press spokesman for the Lower Austrian Greens
Green club in the Lower Austrian state parliament
New Herrengasse 1/House 1/
3100 St. Pölten
Telephone office: 02742/9005 1670
Telephone mobile: 0676/944 72 69
michael.pinnow@gruene.at
www.noe.gruene.at
1695802108
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