Winter is the best time to harvest wind power

As reported by ORF NÖ, strong gusts of wind in the past weeks provided a lot of wind power output. Very often, 3.2 gigawatts of power were generated from a total of 3.6 gigawatts of installed capacity in Austria. On Saturday, 4 February 2023, so much wind power was even generated that 11 gigawatt hours were exported, because Austria was more than able to cover its consumption with domestic production.

Winter time is generally peak wind power time. Because it is usually also drier in the cold season, less electricity is generated by hydropower and, due to fewer hours of sunshine, also less solar power. Therefore, Austria usually has to import electricity in winter.

Strong Austrian wind sector with plenty of room for improvement

At the end of 2022, according to IG Windkraft, 1,374 wind turbines with a total capacity of 3,586 megawatts generated clean and environmentally friendly electricity for about 2.4 million households; that is more than 50 percent of all Austrian households.

Austria's climate targets call for a 100% (national balance) electricity supply from renewable energy sources by 2030. In terms of wind power generation potential, this means that 120 wind turbines must be added annually by 2030. The goal is to cover 26 % of Austria's electricity demand with domestically generated wind power.

EWS and the entire national wind industry are prepared. Many communities and the population support and demand the expansion of wind power. There is no rational reason not to press ahead with this in all federal provinces.