From pv magazine Germany

The Austrian Ministry of Economic Affairs has launched a new call for subsidy applications for solar and storage.

Funding agency OeMAG said the new funding round has a total budget of €12 million ($13.9 million). It includes €2 million each for Category A systems of up to 10 kW and Category B systems of 10 kW to 20 kW, and €4 million each for Category C systems of 20 kW to 100 kW and Category D systems exceeding 100 kW.

This year’s first funding call was allocated €40 million, with the government later adding another €30 million from remaining funds in response to strong demand, the ministry said. Even so, only slightly more than half of the nearly 29,000 applications, representing funding requests totaling €135 million, could be approved.

The first funding round also highlighted a structural trend, with around 90% of applications including a storage component. According to State Secretary Elisabeth Zehetner, this demonstrates the direction in which the market is developing.

“When there is an abundance of solar power at midday, it must be stored and made available when households, businesses, and industry need it,” Zehetner said. “Renewable generation must evolve into an energy system that works in practice.”

Zehetner added that the growing number of hours with negative electricity prices in Austria underscores the need for this “paradigm shift.” Austria recorded around 450 hours of negative electricity prices last year. However, she argued that negative prices are not evidence against renewable energy but instead highlight the need for improvements in storage, grid infrastructure, flexibility, and smart control systems.

She compared the situation to collecting rainwater in a garden barrel. “When it rains heavily, you don’t let the water run unused into the drain; you collect it,” she said. “When it is dry later, you use it for watering. That is exactly how we need to handle solar power in the future: when there is a large amount of cheap PV power at midday, we store it.”

Fixed subsidy rates apply to smaller PV systems, with €150/kW available for installations of up to 10 kW and €140/kW for systems between 10 kW and 20 kW. For systems with capacities of 20 kW or more, funding in this round will be awarded through a competitive bidding process, with priority given to projects requiring the lowest subsidy.

The “Made-in-Europe” bonus will also remain in place. PV systems and electricity storage units using technical components with European value-added content are eligible for a 10% bonus on the approved subsidy. According to the ministry, 46% of PV applications already include European-made inverters.

“With the upcoming amendment to the Renewable Energy Expansion Act, we are taking the next step,” Zehetner said. “‘Made-in-Europe’ requirements for inverters will become mandatory. This strengthens our cybersecurity, reduces dependencies, and ensures that more value creation remains in Europe.”

The third funding call of 2026 will run from Oct. 8 to Oct. 22, with a total budget of €8 million, including €2 million for each of Categories A through D.