Renewable energy in Austria
Open-knowledge reference entry
By the end of 2016, Austria already had fulfilled their EU Renewables Directive goal for the year 2020. By 2016, renewable energies accounted for 33.5% of the final energy consumption in all sectors (heat, electricity, mobility). The renewable energy sector was also accountable for hosting 41,591 jobs (full-time equivalent) and creating a revenue of 7,219 million euros in 2016.
87% of Austria's electricity generation was produced by renewable sources in 2023, the second highest in the EU. However, Austria ranks 6th in total renewable energy consumption (42.9% of gross final energy consumption), as total energy includes electricity, heating/cooling, and transport sectors. Despite this high renewable electricity share, Austria's CO2 emissions intensity was 59 grams per kWh, higher than France's 48 grams per kWh, which relies on nuclear energy as baseload. Austria's electricity mix includes 12% gas, explaining its higher emissions compared to Sweden's 8 grams per kWh - the EU's lowest - achieved through 70% of electricity from hydroelectric (41%) and nuclear (29%) sources.
Government targets
The new Government of Austria set an ambitious goal in 2017. First of all, they planned to achieve 100% of renewable electricity by 2030 and secondly, proceed the decarbonization of the energy system by 2050. As of 2016, renewable energies account 71.7% in Austria. It is only possible to achieve this goal if the necessary organizational and economic framework conditions are also created in order to be able to continue to guarantee the security and the quality of supply.
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