In Vorarlberg everything has been done to create a certain level of security for the upcoming winter. In some regions of Europe, such as in France or in the south, households may have to choose between eating and heating. “It’s not a concept for Vorarlberg,” emphasized Wallner. They want to generate clean energy themselves in Vorarlberg in the interests of independence. In terms of gas supply, the contract negotiated between Austria and Germany, according to which the transit of gas via Germany to Tyrol and Vorarlberg is maintained even in the event of a gas shortage, has not yet been signed. Wallner assumed that this would happen, “but we will also secure ourselves under European law,” said the governor.
The state council responsible for energy Daniel Zadra (Greens) underlined the importance of hydropower for Vorarlberg and emphasized that further power plants would have to be built in the interests of the energy transition. “The ideas are there, let’s implement them,” he said. In terms of photovoltaics, he might imagine an obligation for new buildings and conversions in the future.
There was agreement in the Vorarlberg state parliament that “there is no alternative to taking the step towards renewable energy sources”, as ÖVP MP Christina Metzler put it. Martin Staudinger (SPÖ), Mayor of the Lake Constance municipality of Hard, spoke regarding the use of lake heat. He had already called for the EIA procedure to be accelerated in April. Daniel Allgäuer (FPÖ) also called for more speed in the implementation and also called for “technology openness without bans on thinking”. CO2 pricing should be withdrawn in the current situation. For Greens club chairwoman Eva Hammerer, the key to the energy transition was “own, clean energy”. NEOS MP Garry Thür demanded that the money that the state will receive for the replacement of escheat rights from Illwerken (EUR 21 million annually over the next 30 years) be invested in a future fund.
