If you really want to move away from oil and gas and achieve climate goals, you need a massive expansion of the domestic electricity grid. Because they are already at the end of their capacity. Transport network operator APG therefore wants to invest more than nine billion euros in 2033. But the hurdles are still enormous, which is slowing down expansion, management criticizes.
“We simply cannot get the permits to expand the network,” explains APG board member Gerhard Christiner, supporting this with an example. For example, Voestalpine is currently promoting the decarbonization of the economy. The positive decision to extend the line was taken in March 2023. Since then, nothing has progressed because various objections, for example regarding species protection, have paralyzed everything. “If you want climate protection, you have to do it faster,” says Christiner.
He lacks a clear commitment from politics here. Although ‘acceleration measures’ have already been taken in other countries, such as Germany, little is happening here. For example, the Renewable Energy Expansion Acceleration Act (EABG), which is important for this, is still only a draft and has not yet been adopted in parliament. Without this law, which gives priority to climate protection, the procedures would continue to take far too long. “We need broad political commitment here. “We are currently expanding our network much too slowly,” APG board member Thomas Karall emphasizes.
The need for network expansion is enormous; APG plans nine billion euros
“We have gradually used up the reserves in the electricity grid,” Christiner explains. You also feel it enormously in the fact that network access is limited or even denied. The planned dimensions of renewable energy sources for the energy transition are enormous. If you want to achieve the ambitious goals, you have to triple the installed capacity of wind, solar, etc. “This means at least a doubling of the capacity of the networks,” Christiner emphasizes.
In any case, APG will invest nine billion euros in 2033. In addition to construction lines, a lot of money goes to substations, so that electricity from photovoltaic solar energy or wind energy can be fed in at all.
West-East lines as a bottleneck
The expansion of the pipeline between western and eastern Austria is also of great importance. Currently, 85 percent of the wind and PV capacity is installed in the east of the country. But in the west are the important pumped storage power plants, which will have a capacity of about 7,000 megawatts (MW) in 2030. However, the transmission lines from west to east currently have less than half the capacity of 3000 MW.
Investments bring high added value
The nine billion euros that flow into the networks is a large amount. “If we take the climate goals seriously, there is no alternative,” Christiner emphasizes. Moreover, it would involve investments for many decades. “The benefits are passed down through generations,” Karall adds.
One should not forget the major economic impact of the nine billion euro package. According to a study by Economica, this will not only create 90,000 jobs in 2033, but also provide a total added value of no less than 6.6 billion euros. Not to mention the tax revenues, which, according to Economica boss Christian Helmenstein, amount to no less than 2.8 billion euros from investments of nine billion euros.
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.
