Necessary impulse for the industry

With a new subsidy pot for photovoltaics and the abolition of taxes for the own consumption of self-produced solar energy, the parliament has at the last possible time set an impulse that will cushion the greatest uncertainties in the area of photovoltaics at least next year. In the eco-electricity package that has just been adopted, the state is making 36 million euros available annually from 2020 to 2022 for the expansion of photovoltaics and electricity storage.

This could avert the market collapse in the coming year feared by the Federal Photovoltaic Austria Association. "The subsidies decided upon are to be understood as a first signal. But in order to achieve the targeted energy turnaround, far greater efforts are needed," stresses industry expert Dr. Gerhard Rimpler. The PV pioneer sees the fixing of subsidies for the next three years as a particular danger. "This means that every next government can sit back and postpone the necessary increase in subsidies for the long term.