Austria has strong potential for solar-plus-storage

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Austria almost reached 1 GW of cumulative installed PV capacity last year, with new additions totaling approximately 150 MW. According to the Deutschen Cleantech Institut (DCTI), the country’s solar market, which has registered steady growth over the past years and has a stable regulatory framework, as well as good market conditions, has an untapped potential for the adoption of solar-plus-storage solutions.

According to DCTI, Austria is fourth in the world attractiveness index for investments in storage after Japan, the United States and Germany. In addition to the PV market conditions, the DCTI model also incorporates economic parameters, policy conditions, and the development of system prices for small PV systems in each country.

University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien reports that around 500 additional subsidized residential PV storage systems were installed in 2016. That continues the trend set in the previous years. In 2014 and 2015, more than 1,000 domestic PV storage systems with a total capacity of 6,850 kWh received subsidies.

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According to Technikum Wiens, in addition to these around 1,500 subsidized PV storage systems, there are another 900 that were installed without subsidies. This would sum to approximately 2,400 residential solar-plus-storage systems with a combined generation capacity of 16 MWh.

A publication from the Austrian Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology shows that costs for small PV systems up to 5 kW have fallen steadily in recent years. In 2016, gross prices fell below €2,000/kWh. At the same time, prices for PV home storage have also continued their decline in recent years. Due to low electricity prices, however, residential storage still remains unviable in the country.

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