Fast-track to ElWG submission

On behalf of oekostrom AG, the EWS team prepared the technical approval planning and the submission documents for the electricity law approval for the 17 MWp Agri-PV project "EWS Sonnenfeld Parndorf" in Burgenland.

In March 2024, an application was submitted for approval for the construction and operation of EWS Sonnenfeld Parndorf in accordance with the Burgenland Electricity Act (ElWG). Less than three months later, a hearing was held, which was also handled very quickly. There were almost no subsequent claims. A stroke of luck? Not at all.

Robert Gramlinger, Head of Permit, Engineering and Operation at EWS:"Burgenland is a pioneer when it comes to renewable energy projects. The legal framework, the personnel resources and, if necessary, the use of additional external experts enable the process to be completed quickly. As the EWS Sonnenfeld® is already a mature and tried-and-tested system, this also speeds up the approval process."

a role model for the whole of austria

EWS has 30 years of experience in handling renewable energy projects and thus also in working with the authorities in various Austrian federal states. We can therefore say that Burgenland is a role model for the whole of Austria in terms of procedural handling and duration, as the official handling in Burgenland leads to time savings of around 80 % compared to other federal states. In any case, this corresponds to an accelerated procedure in line with the urgently needed rapid phase-out of fossil energy generation and an end to dependence on expensive imported electricity. It would be desirable if this were the case throughout Austria.

The location of the EWS Competence Centre for Wind Energy and Agri-Photovoltaics in Parndorf and the many successfully completed procedures, especially in Burgenland, mean that there is familiarity and a good understanding, not only with the authorities, but also with our clients from eastern Austria. We know each other and know what is needed to realise good projects.

Peter Kuntner, oekostrom AG project manager for the "EWS Sonnenfeld Parndorf", confirms this: "We have a long-standing partnership with EWS and have worked together on many exciting projects. Once again, we were able to rely on the fact that the submission documents were delivered completely. The fact that no additional requirements were necessary is certainly also due to the fact that the EWS Sonnenfeld® was designed in accordance with the requirements of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EAG)."

And there is another Burgenland speciality: At the request of the state government, no fencing is planned around open-space PV areas or agri-PV systems. This issue is not clearly regulated in other federal states and repeatedly leads to uncertainties and therefore also to a considerable amount of additional work in the planning and authorisation process.

Renewable Energy Expansion Acceleration Act (EABG)

The Renewable Energy Expansion Acceleration Act (EABG) could help to speed up and simplify the authorisation of renewable energy plants that fall below the EIA threshold. For wind power projects, this is a total output of 30 MW. It also announces improved structuring of the approval process and a nationwide pool of experts as well as specifications for the designation of areas by the federal states (acceleration areas). It also stipulates the designation of areas in the individual provinces for PV and wind power, which are necessary to achieve Austria's climate targets.

However, at the most recent provincial governors' conference in April 2024, the provincial governors rejected several core issues of the EABG in a joint statement. This includes the "far-reaching shifts in competences in plant and spatial planning law at the expense of the federal states".

Burgenland is already showing how it can be done without the EABG and therefore gets a straight 1 from us!