Austrian regulator E-Control warns of rising cost for renewables

Freiburg (Platts)--9Sep2005

The cost of subsidies for green power generation in Austria's is expected
to rise to Eur373-mil ($463.4-mil) from Eur284-mil for this year, Walter
Boltz, director general of the regulator E-Control, said Friday. 

     With Austria permitting more and more green units, cost would rise as the
country guarantees subsidies for 13 years. Green units in Austria do not
include large hydro power. "We could have reached our climate aim with lower
subsidies," said the regulator. The aim is to generate 4% of demand from green
sources--but Austria currently stands at 8%, excluding hydro power. 

     Boltz said the only green power source generating at market price was
small hydro power, but because Austria had approved so many biomass and biogas
units, the country would remove itself from the real market more and more.
Boltz said it would take at least two years to complete construction on the
total 6,460 eco power units that have already been approved (by March: 163
wind parks with 615 turbines, 298 biogas units, 155 biomass units, 2,967 solar
units and 2,322 small hydro units)--and with more units coming online, the
country would have to pay out more. 

     Boltz noted that green power subsidies push up the power price by about
10% for each consumer each year. Austria in 2004 generated a total of
41.302TWh of power from renewable sources, according to data from the
suppliers' association VEO. According to estimates, imports will cover about a
third of all power demand by 2015 because of the ageing power generation park,
with plants being switched off.

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