12.4 cents per kilowatt hour – and it should be even cheaper. Leondinger Wohnbauträger dreams of an energy community, but the European Union thwarts the plans, which would benefit tenants and neighbors.
The plan would be simple: cover all developers’ roofs with PV systems, bring neighbors or entire communities on board to lower the price of electricity. Residents of Giwog homes that generate solar energy currently pay – if they want to – 12.4 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity. “But we would have a lot more potential,” said Wolfgang Modera, head of the Leondinger residential developer, who would like to form local energy communities with those involved outside of Giwog, but is not allowed to.
“Because the EU does not know the principle of non-profit,” explains Modera, because energy communities are only allowed for individuals, communities or small businesses. Residential developers that exceed the staffing or balance sheet limits of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered large enterprises. And they must not appear as generators of electricity.
This applies to 190 construction associations throughout Austria and Upper Austria. The state commission is already working on a PV strategy. At the moment, many project developers rent their roofs to generators for PV installations. Modera believes that the best way to be as self-sufficient and local as possible is: “We cannot and do not need to earn anything from electricity, and we do not want to. Our residents benefit of low prices and have another reason to remain a customer.”
The idea is to interpret the law in Austria more broadly and to exempt “the non-profit” from the SME rule here. The Ministry of Green Environment and Energy has not yet responded.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
