Citizens buy out solar

EVN’s (Energie Versorgung Niederösterreich) second solar energy initiative was a runaway success. To finance a restructuring of the energy mix in Lower Austria, the company sold off solar panels (good for 13 years) to residents and the leases them back. Within 24 hours the 2,000 solar panels in the Schönkirchen solar plant, in the district of Gänserndorf, were sold out.

In Zwentendorf EVN’s first initiative was ground breaking. The site had been planned as an atomic energy plant but was never put into operation, because of a public vote against using nuclear power.

The Solar Power Plant Zwentendorf was opened in November 2012, having sold 1,300 of the 2,300 panels to citizens for €300 each. The investment also appreciates at an interest rate of 3.3% a year, making it more than an investment in Austria’s energy future.

Due to the growing demand, EVN is already considering follow-up projects, for example an expansion of the Schönkirchen solar power plant.