From pv magazine Germany
The Austrian Ministry of Economic Affairs has launched a new call for subsidy applications for solar energy and storage.
Funding agency OeMAG said the new funding round has a total budget of €12 million ($13.9 million). It includes €2 million each for category A systems up to 10 kW and category B systems from 10 kW to 20 kW, and €4 million each for Category C systems from 20 kW to 100 kW and Category D systems over 100 kW.
This year’s first funding call allocated 40 million euros, while the government later added another 30 million euros from the remaining funds in response to strong demand, the ministry said. Yet only slightly more than half of the almost 29,000 applications, representing a total financing request of €135 million, could be honored.
A structural trend also emerged from the first funding round: around 90% of applications contain a storage component. According to State Secretary Elisabeth Zehetner, this shows the direction in which the market is developing.
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“If there is an abundance of solar energy around noon, it should be stored and made available when households, businesses and industry need it,” Zehetner said. “Renewable generation must evolve into an energy system that works in practice.”
Zehetner added that the growing number of hours of negative electricity prices in Austria underlines the need for this “paradigm shift.” Austria recorded around 450 hours of negative electricity prices last year. However, she argued that negative prices are not evidence against renewable energy, but instead highlight the need for improvements in storage, grid infrastructure, flexibility and smart control systems.
She compared the situation to collecting rainwater in a garden barrel. “When it rains heavily, don’t let the water flow unused into the drain, but collect it,” she says. “When it is dry later, you use it for irrigation. That is exactly how we should deal with solar energy in the future: if there is a large amount of cheap PV power in the afternoon, we store it.”
Fixed subsidy rates apply for smaller PV systems, with €150/kW available for installations up to 10 kW and €140/kW for systems between 10 kW and 20 kW. For systems with a capacity of 20 kW or more, funding will be awarded in this round through a competitive bidding process, with priority given to projects requiring the lowest subsidy.
The ‘Made-in-Europe’ bonus also remains in force. PV systems and electricity storage units using technical components with European value-added content are eligible for a 10% bonus on the approved subsidy. According to the ministry, 46% of PV applications already include European-made inverters.
“With the upcoming amendment to the Renewable Energy Expansion Act, we are taking the next step,” Zehetner said. “‘Made-in-Europe’ requirements for inverters will become mandatory. This strengthens our cyber security, reduces dependencies and ensures more value creation continues in Europe.”
The third funding call of 2026 runs from October 8 to 22, with a total budget of €8 million, including €2 million for each of categories A to D.
