In an interview on krone.tv, Gerhard Christiner, Chief Technology Officer of APG, explains the state of the domestic high-performance electricity grids in clear terms: “The grid is already at its limits in many areas. Due to the many feed-in of renewable energy, the new photovoltaic and wind turbines often lead to an oversupply that the electricity grids can no longer remove from the feed-in.”
This means that the share of renewable energy is lost. The electricity grids should also become more intelligent in general. This requires much more digitization. Network operator Austrian Power Grid will invest a total of nine billion euros in the electricity network in the coming years: on the one hand in new lines and on the other hand in upgrading existing networks.
Currently there are many construction sites
Construction is currently taking place in high alpine terrain, such as the Salzburg line. A total of 500 kilometers of 380 kV lines need to be strengthened, plus another 400 kilometers of 220 kV lines. This mainly concerns the west-east lines through Austria, but also partly to the Carinthia network area and the East Austria project cluster. Christiner: “In this country, energy sources are often consumers elsewhere who need this electricity. That is why a well-developed, powerful electricity grid is essential.”
“We are on the right track”
It remains to be seen whether Austria will be able to generate electricity from renewable energy sources and transport it with sufficient lines across the country only from 2030, but Christiner reassures: “Despite all the difficulties and the lack of legislation, we are on the right. track. It will be very close, but it could work.”
In the video above you can see many more explosive details about Austria’s current electricity supply.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
