Net electricity import soaring | IG Wind Power Austria, 05.03.2023

Renewable turbo must be ignited in 2023

St. Polten (OTS) – After a sharp increase in net electricity imports to Austria in 2021, this rose again by 15 percent in 2022. As a result, an unbelievable 3.2 billion euros flowed from Austria to foreign coal, nuclear and gas power plants. “How do we want to get the climate crisis and the energy crisis under control if we haven’t even been able to ensure that Austria can supply itself with electricity for years?” asks Stefan Moidl, Managing Director of IG Windkraft, and calls on politicians to federal and State level to create the framework conditions so that renewable energies can finally be expanded to the necessary extent.

According to the current figures from E-Control, net electricity imports rose again significantly by 15 percent from 2021 to 2022. Compared to 2019, this is even an incredible 178 percent higher in 2022. At 11.7 percent of electricity consumption, net electricity imports in 2022 are well above the average for this millennium (7.2 percent).

For decades, Austria generated more electricity than was consumed in the country. In 2001, however, Austria became an electricity importing country and since then has had to import large amounts of electricity from nuclear, coal and gas power plants from abroad to cover consumption. “In 2030 we want to cover our electricity consumption with 100 percent renewable domestic electricity. Today we don’t even manage to generate our electricity consumption with domestic power plants, and we still have to import dirty and expensive nuclear, coal and natural gas electricity in large quantities,” notes Moidl: “Especially in the winter months, when hydropower generation is naturally lower wind power is at its maximum generation. The increased expansion of wind power can close this winter gap and is therefore of particular importance for the replacement of fossil and nuclear energy with renewables.”

3.2 billion euros for foreign electricity from coal, gas and nuclear power plants

In 2022, a net 8.7 billion kWh of electricity were imported to Austria. Due to the high price of electricity, an unbelievable 3.2 billion euros flowed out to the power plant operators of coal, natural gas and nuclear power plants abroad. “At the moment we have to pay dearly for the mistakes that politicians made in the past in generating electricity,” says Moidl and calls for the handbrakes to be finally released when expanding renewable energies. “Politicians at federal and state level are called upon to finally create the framework conditions in response to the climate crisis and the enormous energy prices so that renewables can be expanded quickly,” demands Moidl, adding in conclusion: “Renewables are life insurance for domestic energy Industry and the guarantor for an affordable energy supply for the population.”

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