Wind farm permitting in Austria: expert support and submission
Wind farm permitting in Austria: we support your permit procedure and prepare all submission documents for ElWOG, EIA and more.
Planning and implementing wind farm projects is complex, and the requirements of the authorities are becoming more extensive. Whether a permit under the sectoral laws (ElWOG, Forestry Act, nature conservation, aviation, building law or high-voltage line law) or an EIA: with professional support, this hurdle is easier to overcome.
Which type of procedure applies depends on size. An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is required for wind farms from 30 MW of total capacity or 20 converters. Above 1,000 m above sea level, lower thresholds of 15 MW or 10 converters apply. In protected areas of category A, a case-by-case check of whether an EIA is required is likewise provided for from 15 MW or 10 converters. Even below the thresholds, cumulation with neighbouring wind farms may lead the authority to carry out a case-by-case review. Where an EIA is required, the permits are combined in a single consolidated procedure before the provincial government, with public participation. The environmental impact statement (UVE) bundles the technical contributions, with nature and animals assessed at species level. Below the thresholds, separate procedures run, for example for nature conservation, electricity law and aviation, before different authorities: the provincial government, the district administration or magistrate, and the provincial governor. In airport safety zones, the transport ministry must also be involved, and Austro Control in radar areas.
The review focuses mainly on noise, shadow flicker, landscape, recreational value, bird and nature protection, and aviation obstacles. In addition, zoning, which lies with the municipality, is usually required before the procedure. A dedicated wind power zoning exists, for example, in Lower Austria, Salzburg and Upper Austria; in Burgenland, zoning and any capacity limits depend on the applicable local and supra-local spatial planning, and in Styria zoning is required except in priority zones. The rules therefore differ between federal provinces and are in flux: the 2023 EIA amendment, the Renewable Energy Expansion Acceleration Act (EABG, Federal Law Gazette I No. 47/2026) adopted in 2026 and the provinces' acceleration areas are continually changing the procedures. Early involvement of the population and the host municipality is part of good planning. Whether a supra-local wind energy spatial plan makes additional municipal zoning unnecessary must be assessed under the provincial law in force. For zoning of wind turbines, Lower Austria requires a distance of at least 1,200 m from zoned residential building land; separate distances apply to other buildings and to residential building land in neighbouring municipalities; in other federal provinces the distance is regulated specifically by province and area and must be checked for the site. Planning offices typically also support noise and shadow flicker calculations, tendering and construction supervision.
EWS's experts are a well-coordinated team with routine in dealing with authorities and in preparing submission documents. They draw on a team of electrical engineers, ecologists, civil engineers and many more. We have successfully completed more than 40 EIA procedures. Authorities and technical experts receive coherent, complete documents, which makes the review easier. We supply the technical contributions for the procedure, for example the UVE technical contributions and the electrical engineering design. If the framework conditions change, we take over the modification procedure. For projects in Germany, there is support in the BImSchG procedure, where the landscape management plan (LBP) is also part of the permit documents.
