Expansion of renewable energy sources
In addition to the objective of making a significant contribution to the implementation of the new Ecoelectricity Act, EVN regards a systematic increase in its use of renewable energy sources such as wind, hydropower, biomass and photovoltaics as a climate-neutral possibility for raising its generation capacity.
EVN intends to step up the share of these energy sources in its overall production in Lower Austria to around a third by 2010.
evn naturkraft Erzeugungs- und Verteilungs GmbH
The fully-owned subsidiary, evn naturkraft, is responsible for EVN’s sustainable electricity production from hydro- and wind power and photovoltaics. With total output of 226 MW, it can already furnish approximately 146,000 households with environment-friendly electricity from these sources. The company operates 68 hydropower plants, sixty in Lower Austria and eight in Styria, whereby the electricity requirements of around 76,000 households can be covered. In addition, the company has a one-third participation in the Nussdorf power plant in Vienna. 66 of the 68 hydropower plants are small-scale in design (capacity <10 MW).
evn naturkraft operates 63 windmills in seven wind farms, which on average generate 240 GWh of eco-electricity annually for the supply of 70,000 households. At present, several wind power projects in Lower Austria are in the assessment phase, whereby the amendment to the Austrian Eco-electricity Act has had a negative influence on these plans. In addition, evn naturkraft also continuously evaluates the possibilities for entry into the Central and South-eastern European markets.
In August 2008, an evn naturkraft photovoltaic system with a capacity of 4.5 kW was put into operation in the new kindergarten in the market district of Zwentendorf. This system will feed around 4,500 kWh annually into the EVN network. Moreover, other photovoltaic projects are currently in the development phase, especially in Italy and Bulgaria.