Renewable

March 23 (Renewables Now) - The Austrian government will provide EUR 250 million (USD 275.6m) in financing to support the expansion of solar and onshore wind power in the country in a bid to become more independent from imports.

The funding is part of a EUR-2-billion package of measures unveiled by Austria's Finance Ministry on Monday with the objective to weather the increasing inflation. The package comes on top of another bundle of measures worth EUR 1.7 billion that was introduced earlier this year. Along with the financial support for wind and solar power, it includes a number of other initiatives such as a 90% reduction in the electricity tax and gas tax by end-June which will relieve electricity consumers by about EUR 900 million. It also provides for EUR 120 million in financing to be extended this and next year to companies switching to alternative decarbonised drive forms.

The country's solar energy association Photovoltaic Austria welcomed the decision to provide additional financing for green energy projects but warned that this should not distract attention from the enforcement of the Renewables Expansion Law (EAG) that was approved by the government last July. The introduction of regulations related to the new legislation is urgently needed in order to enable the implementation of thousands of green energy projects and stop the rising energy costs, according to the association.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.102)

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