Wien Energie and Wiener Linien Continue Photovoltaic Offensive

PeopleOther ♦ Published: February 19, 2023; 19:17 ♦ (Vindobona)

Exactly 1,369 photovoltaic modules will make Vienna's public transport even greener with immediate effect, as part of the City of Vienna's plan to drive forward climate-friendly energy policies.

Wiener Energie builds a photovoltaic roof on the Wiener Linien Main Workshop and creates 8,000 square meters full of solar energy. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons, Sandy1503, Public domain

Wien Energie has commissioned a new photovoltaic system on the roof of the Wiener Linien main plant in Simmering as part of the City of Vienna's solar offensive. From now on, almost 600,000-kilowatt hours of solar energy will be generated here annually, which corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of 300 Viennese households.

Solar power is used on-site in the main workshop's operations and can cover around 30 percent of electricity requirements at peak times in summer. With 562 kilowatts of power, the plant is one of the largest rooftop photovoltaic systems in Vienna.

"To achieve the climate turnaround, we are turning many screws. Large-scale projects such as the use of geothermal energy for decarbonized space heating are just as much a part of this as the expansion of solar power," emphasizes Peter Hanke, City Councillor for Economic Affairs and Vienna Public Utilities.

In the city, not everyone has the opportunity to install a photovoltaic system on their roof, Hanke explained. Accordingly, according to the politician, it is therefore particularly important that companies also use as much of their roof space as possible for solar power.

Wien Energie operates a total of over 370 photovoltaic systems. This makes the company the largest photovoltaic operator in Austria, producing solar power for the equivalent of 55,000 Viennese households. More than three-quarters of the plants are located on roofs, for example on apartment buildings, municipal buildings, or commercial roofs. Last year, numerous systems were already installed on the roofs of municipal departments such as schools, the Wiener Linien subway stations and nursing homes.

In the future, Wien Energie will continue to use additional roofs and municipal areas for solar energy production as part of the City of Vienna's solar offensive.

By 2025, 20 solar power plants will also be installed on public transport roofs. In 2021, the starting signal was given for the solar power turbo of the two City of Vienna companies. One of the first solar power plants is the U1 station Alte Donau, which supplies the entire Alte Donau station including its U1 neighboring stations with electricity during peak hours. Wiener Linien checks whether photovoltaic systems can be installed in all construction projects and renovations.

Wien Energie