Braunau district focusses on renewable energy

The transformation of the energy supply to secure, domestic and affordable electricity generation from renewable energies and storage has long been on track. Energy projects such as the Munderfing wind farm and the agri-PV plants in Pischelsdorf am Engelbach, St. Veit im Innkreis, Mining, Höhnhart and other municipalities are good examples of this. Local companies such as EWS from Munderfing, with its team of more than 100 highly qualified experts, are working flat out on the energy transition.

More and more Braunau municipalities are taking responsibility for the future of energy. With the consistent expansion of wind and photovoltaic projects, the region is sending a clear signal for a favourable, secure power supply for us all. Our district has enough renewable and land-saving energy potential for its total annual electricity demand of 1.020 TWh, which can be covered by 53 wind turbines and 23 agri-PV systems. With the associated storage systems and only minor grid adjustments, this expansion can be realised over the next 10 years.

Thanks to state-of-the-art technologies and strong regional cooperation, the Braunau district is developing into a showcase model for the whole of Upper Austria.

Joachim Payr, Managing Partner of EWS: "For decades, and especially now again, we have painfully felt how our dependence on imported gas and oil is repeatedly being used as a weapon against our country and our economy. The answer to this is clear: We must minimise our energy import share, which is around 61% (!) in Upper Austria. This is only possible with a consistent expansion of the province's own electricity supply, which in turn can be achieved most quickly, cheaply and reliably through the expansion of wind and solar energy. The positive thing about this is that we don't just have the availability and costs in our hands. All the billions that we are still investing in fossil fuelled electricity imports can then be invested in our own economy and in domestic jobs. We must also remember that a reliable electricity supply is crucial to the functioning of our society. It is therefore of enormous importance as critical infrastructure (KRITIS) for public safety and therefore part of national defence."

Wind and PV combined with storage systems

What we need for a functioning energy system is energy generation that is as constant as possible throughout the year. The combination of photovoltaics, predominantly in summer, and wind power in winter, supplemented by hydropower and modern storage technologies such as pumped storage power plants and additional battery storage systems, is ideally suited for this. An intelligent grid infrastructure balances out the time-shifted generation patterns by storing surplus energy and feeding it back into the grid when required. A smart grid controls and monitors the flow of electricity between generators, consumers and storage systems in real time and ensures a stable power supply. This is not just a dream of the future and is already working in many hybrid parks consisting of wind, solar and storage systems.