Russian Gas Supplies: Wien Energie Invests One Billion Euros in Gas Exit
Austria's largest energy company, Wien Energie, is taking a big step towards independence from Russian gas supplies. The company is investing a sum of one billion euros in the expansion of renewable energies and thus wants to end the purchase of fossil fuels step by step in the next 5 years.
Wien Energie no longer wants to be dependent on fossil fuels in the future. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / Jürgen (Guerito) / CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)
The Russian halt in gas supplies to Poland and Romania has made the EU aware of how dependent it is on Russian raw materials. Now, solutions are being feverishly worked on throughout Europe and alternative suppliers are being sought to avoid being under Russian control.
According to media reports, EU leaders are now planning a joint embargo of Russian crude oil in order to avoid having to rely on supplies in the future. Austria's Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler is also not averse to an oil embargo with the European Union.
Just recently, at a special meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels, she spoke out in favor of such a boycott from the Austrian side as well, announcing that the state of Austria had already stopped processing Russian oil in March, according to ORF.
Austrian energy industry braces itself
Austrian companies are also preparing for the uncertain future: one of the largest Austrian energy companies, Wien Energie, plans to invest one billion euros in the coming 5 years to phase out gas. With massive investments in geothermal energy, large heat pumps and the expansion of photovoltaics and wind power, Austria's largest energy service provider wants to end its dependence on fossil fuels step by step.
"Only investments will get us out of the crisis. Wien Energie will spend one billion euros on phasing out gas in the coming years. We are completely transforming Vienna's energy system," says Michael Strebl, Chairman of the Wien Energie Management Board on the occasion of the 2021 Annual Review, which was marked by current developments in the energy industry and geopolitics.
Wien Energie plans to invest a total of 1.29 billion euros by 2027. Of this, 625 million euros will go to heating projects, 334 million euros to the expansion of renewable power generation, 90 million euros to environmentally friendly cooling supply, 160 million euros to digitalization, electromobility and telecommunications, and a further 90 million euros to supply security.
In order to achieve climate neutrality in 2040, Wien Energie is calling for speed in the legal framework, such as the Renewable Heat Act and acceleration of the EIA procedures.
"We are ready, we have a plan. But to be even faster, we also need the right framework conditions and the acceptance of the population for this major transformation. If we continue to take ten years from submission to the start of construction of a wind farm, we will not manage the system change," says Michael Strebl.