Renewable

January 14 (Renewables Now) - Austrian energy company Wien Energie GmbH plans to install 28 MW of solar capacity in its home market this year in a bid to accelerate its renewables expansion and reach 600 MW of solar by the end of the decade.

Last year, the utility built more than 60 solar plants with a combined output of nearly 26 MW with roof-top systems accounting for 80% of the installed capacity, it said on Thursday. The projects that went online in 2021 included Austria's largest photovoltaic plant with a capacity of 11.45 MW.

The utility now operates a solar portfolio of 320 plants totalling 85 MW and two-thirds of the systems are located in Vienna. The plants generate 89,000 MWh of green electricity which is enough to supply 44,000 households in the capital and avoid some 52,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year.

The Vienna-based company is also involved in a number of partnership projects. In the autumn, it teamed up with public transport network operator Wiener Linien to deploy at least 20 solar plants on the roofs of public buildings in the capital. The facilities will be deployed on an area of 70,000 sq m by 2025.

In addition, the city of Vienna and Wien Energie are planning to install some 50 MW of solar capacity in city areas by 2025. The initiative has been already approved by Vienna's Municipal Council. The systems will be set up on the roofs of public buildings, schools, baths and on land owned by municipal companies.