Feed-in tariff (ÖSG 2012)
Updated: 18.12.2018
Author: Tim Sternkopf
In principle, the feed-in tariff scheme applies to all renewable energy technologies. However, the plant must be registered as a “green electricity plant” (Ökostromanlage) if it depends on resources according to § 7 ÖSG 2012. All installations are registered in a registry for green electricity plants kept by the OeMAG (§ 37 para. 5 ÖSG 2012)
Plants generating electricity from wind, solid and liquid biomass, biogas or geothermal energy are eligible regardless of their capacities. However, after 1 January 2018, solid and liquid biogas plants applying for being contracted will face stricter eligibility conditions. PV installations shall exceed 5 kWp, hydro-power plants are eligible up to a capacity of 2 MW (§1 para. 1 ÖSET-VO 2016).
Eligible technologies
In principle, the feed-in tariff scheme applies to all renewable energy technologies. However, the plant must be registered as a “green electricity plant” (Ökostromanlage) if it depends on resources according to § 7 ÖSG 2012. All installations are registered in a registry for green electricity plants kept by the OeMAG (§ 37 para. 5 ÖSG 2012) Plants generating electricity from wind, solid and liquid biomass, biogas or geothermal energy are eligible regardless of their capacities. However, after 1 January 2018, solid and liquid biogas plants applying for being contracted will face stricter eligibility conditions. PV installations shall exceed 5 kWp, hydro-power plants are eligible up to a capacity of 2 MW (§1 para. 1 ÖSET-VO 2018). Eligible (§ 12 para. 1 no. 2 a) ÖSG 2012).
| Wind energy | Eligible (§ 12 para. 1 no. 2 a) ÖSG 2012). |
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| Solar energy | Eligible under the following condition: • The installation’s capacity shall exceed 5 kWp (§ 12 para. 2 no. 3 ÖSG 2012 in conjunction with § 1 para. 1 ÖSET-VO 2018). |
| Geothermal energy | Eligible under the following condition: • Plants shall reach an efficiency of at least 60% (§ 12 para. 2 no. 4 ÖSG 2012 in conjunction with § 3 para. 1 ÖSET-VO 2018). |
| Biogas | Eligible under the following condition: • Plants shall reach an efficiency of at least 60% (§ 12 para. 2 no. 4 ÖSG 2012 in conjunction with § 2 para. 1 ÖSET-VO 2018). After 1 January 2018, the obligation to contract new biogas plants for the defined feed-in tariff is only given if (§ 14 subpara. 8 ÖSG 2012): • The plant is remote controllable • The deployed fuel is not more than 30% from maize and cereals • The plant’s maximum capacity is 150 kWel and the fuel efficiency is at least 67.5% • or if the biogas produced can be upgraded to natural gas quality and can be injected into the natural gas grid and the distance between the biogas and the electricity conversion plant is more than 5 km. |
| Hydro-power | Eligible under the following condition: • The plant’s capacity shall not exceed 2 MW (§ 12 para. 1 no. 2 e) ÖSG 2012 in conjunction with § 1 para. 1 ÖSET-VO 2018). • Revitalised hydro-power installations with an increased capacity of at least 15% (ÖSET-VO 2018 in accordance with § 5 para. 1 ÖSG 2012) |
| Biomass | Eligible under the following condition: • Plants shall reach an efficiency of at least 60% (§ 12 para. 2 no. 4 ÖSG 2012 in conjunction with § 2 para. 1 ÖSET-VO 2018). |
Amount
The amount of tariff is determined for each source of energy by the Minister of Science, Research and Economy (§ 19 para. 1 ÖSG 2012).
| Wind energy | 2018: €ct 8.2 per kWh 2019: €ct 8.12 per kWh (§ 7 ÖSET-VO 2018) |
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| Solar energy | PV installations on roof-tops and façades with capacities over 5 kWp, up to 200 kWp 2018: €ct 7.91 per kWh 2019: €ct 7.67 per kWh (§ 6 para. 1 ÖSET-VO 2018) In addition to the feed-in tariff, an investment subsidy of 30% of the investment costs up to 250 € per kWp is granted for PV installations on buildings (§ 6 para. 1 ÖSET-VO 2018) |
| Geothermal energy | 2018: €ct 7.29 per kWh 2019: €ct 7.22 per kWh (§ 8 ÖSET-VO 2018) |
| Biogas | Biogas plants If the application is submitted in 2018: €ct 10.10 – 21.78 per kWh depending on the maximum bottleneck capacity (§ 10 para. 1 ÖSET-VO 2017). If the application is submitted in 2019 the range is € ct 10.00 – 21.56 per kWh). (§ 9 para. 2 ÖSET-VO 2018). Electricity from CHP-plants (CHP-bonus) For CHP-plants operating on the basis of biogas for which an application has been submitted within the prescribed period (accordance with § 15 ÖSG), the feed-in tariff applying for biogas is granted with a premium of ct€ 2 per kWh if certain efficiency criteria are fulfilled (§§ 11 para. 3 ÖSET-VO 2018 in accordance with § 8 para. 2 CHP-Act). Biomethane For electricity which is processed to the same standard as natural gas and is furnished from biogas plants, following feed-in tariffs are granted in 2018 and 2019 (§ 11 para. 2 ÖSET-VO 2018 in accordance with 8 para. 3 ÖSG 2012): €ct 16.24 and 16.10 per kWh. For biogas not meeting quality standards of natural gas the granted feed-in tariffs are: €ct 19.14 (2018) and 18.97 (2019) per kWh. Sewage gas plants If the application is submitted in 2018: €ct 5.65 per kWh in 2019: €ct 5.60 per kWh (§ 12 para. 1 ÖSET-VO 2018) Landfill gas plants If the application is submitted in 2018: €ct 4.70 per kWh in 2019: €ct 4.66 per kWh (§ 12 para. 2 ÖSET-VO 2018) |
| Hydro-power | New or revitalised hydro-power plants (<2 MW) which have increased their efficiency by at least 50% (§ 13 para. 1 ÖSET-VO 2018): If the application is submitted in 2018: €ct 3.23 – 10.30 per kWh, depending on the amount of electricity fed into the grid. in 2019: €ct 3.20 – 10.20 per kWh, depending on the amount of electricity fed into the grid. Furthermore, revitalised hydro-power plants (< 2MW) which have increased their efficiency by at least 15% are eligible as well. If the application is submitted in 2018: €ct 2.54 – 8.60 per kWh, depending on the amount of electricity fed into the grid. in 2019: €ct 2.51 – 8.51 per kWh, depending on the amount of electricity fed into the grid |
| Biomass | Solid biomass • If application is submitted in 2018: According to maximum bottleneck capacity: €ct 10.10 – 21.78 per kWh in 2019: According to maximum bottleneck capacity: €ct 10.00 – 21.56 per kWh (§9 para. 1 No. 1 ÖSET-VO 2018) • If total installed capacity exceeds 100 MW: According to maximum bottleneck capacity: €ct 8.22 – 18.09 per kWh (§ 9 para. 1 No. 3 ÖSET-VO 2018) Waste with high biogenic share • Plants using waste with high biogenic share are eligible for the reduced feed-in tariff which applies to solid biomass plants (§9 para. 2 ÖSET-VO 2018). The tariff reduction of 25%, respectively 40%, depends on certain criteria defined in the Annex 1 of the Green Electricity Act. • For certain primary energy sources, the tariff might be fixed at €ct 4.70 (2018) or 4.66 (2019) per kWh (§9 para. 2 subpara. 3 ÖSET-VO 2018). Liquid biomass If the application is submitted in 2018: €ct 5.45 per kWh in 2019: €ct 5.40 per kWh (§ 9 para. 1 ÖSET-VO 2018) |
Addressees
Entitled party. The persons entitled to the tariff are the operators of renewable energy plants. The plant which the operator claims the tariff for must be licensed as a “green electricity plant” (Ökostromanlage), if it depends on additional resources. These plants are licensed by the governor (§ 7 par. 1 ÖSG 2012).
Obligated party:
- Clearing and Settlement Agency. The Clearing and Settlement Agency is obliged to the purchase of all electricity generated from renewable energy sources as long as funds are available (§ 14 par. 2 and 3 ÖSG 2012). The Clearing and Settlement Agency is a private enterprise that has a state licence and is responsible for the purchase and sale of electricity from renewable sources within the territory of Austria (§ 31 par. 1 ÖSG 2012).
- Electricity trader. The second party obligated to satisfy a claim for the feed-in tariff are the electricity traders, who are obliged to purchase the quantities of electricity assigned to them by the Clearing and Settlement Agency at the transfer price set by law (§ 40 par. 1 ÖSG 2012).
Procedure
Process flow | The Clearing and Settlement Agency is obliged to purchase electricity from all renewable sources regardless of the generation technology used, under the following conditions:
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Competent authority | Ministry of Science, Research and Economy (BMWfW) - now: Ministry of Digital and Economic Affairs (BMDW) |
Degression
The tariff for new plants may be gradually reduced to reflect the development of costs for a certain technology. The amount of annual reduction is determined by order of the Minister of Science, Research and Economy (§ 19 para. 2 ÖSG 2012). Furthermore, the overall budget for renewable electricity of € 50 million is reduced by € 1 million annually (whereby the first reduction took place in 2013) (§23 (2) ÖSG 2012).
Cap
In 2012, the overall annual support budget for renewable electricity has been set at € 50 million which is annually reduced by € 1 million in the first 10 years (§23 (2) ÖSG 2012). Plants and installations are only accepted unless funds are not exhausted. From this budget, € 8 million are granted for solar energy, € 10 million for solid and liquid biomass and biogas, at least € 11.5 million for wind energy and € 1.5 million for small hydro-power. In particular, the remaining budget of € 19 million (in 2012) is reduced annually and is available for wind and hydro power and for solar power (only grid parity tariff in this case) (§23 (3) ÖSG 2012). As of 2017, the annual budget amounts up to € 45 million in total.
In July 2017, in the framework of the amendments to the ÖSG 2012, the Austrian Federal Government decided to raise the budget of the feed-in tariff for certain technologies in order to resolve the issue of queuing projects:
- For wind power, a special budget of € 30 million (2017) and € 15 million (2018) was introduced (§23a ÖSG 2012).
- For small hydro power plants, the annual budget for the feed-in tariff was raised from € 1.5 million to € 2.5 million.
In addition to that, a special budget of € 2 million (2017) and € 1.5 million (2018) was introduced (§ 23 para. 3 ÖSG 2012).
Eligibility period
Entitlement to the tariff is time-limited, regardless of the source of energy used.
- Biomass and biogas technologies. A given operator of a plant fuelled by solid or liquid biomass or biogas is entitled to the purchase of all electricity he exports to the grid and to the payment of the tariff applicable on the date on which the contract is concluded, for 15 years starting on the date on which the plant is put into operation (§ 16 para. 1 no. 1 ÖSG 2012).
- Other plants. A given operator of any other renewable energy plant is entitled to the purchase of electricity exported and to the payment of the tariff applicable on the date on which the contract is concluded, for 13 years starting on the date on which the plant is put into operation (§ 16 para. 1 no. 2 ÖSG 2012).
Distribution of costs
| Consumers | The costs of the support system are borne by the end users (§§ 44, 45 and 48 ÖSG 2012). |
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| Distribution mechanism | 1. Fixed green electricity rate (Ökostrompauschale). On the one hand, the costs are passed on to the consumers, who have to pay a fixed green electricity rate. The rate is redefined by the Minister for Science, Research and Economy every three years through a regulation on fixed charges for electricity from renewable energy sources. (§ 45 para. 1 ÖSG 2012). Consumers – grid operator. The grid operators charge all users (large-scale consumers, private households) a fixed rate (Ökostrompauschale), which differs according to the level of consumption, on top of the grid use fee (§ 45 para. 1 ÖSG 2012). 1. Fixed support fee (Ökostrompauschale) For 2015 - 2017, the support fee is as follows (§ 45 para. 2 ÖSG 2012): The fixed support fee (‘Ökostrompauschale’) is determined by the Minister for Science, Research and Economy for a period of three years (§ 45 para. 2 ÖSG 2012). The regulation on fixed charges for electricity from renewable energy sources sets out the fixed fee for 2015-2017 (‘Regulation on Fixed Charges’) as follows:
Grid operator – Clearing and Settlement Agency. The grid operator is obliged to transfer the income from the fixed green electricity rate to the Clearing and Settlement Agency every quarter (§ 47 para. 1 ÖSG 2012). 2. Additional compensatory charge (Ökostromförderbeitrag). To cover the additional costs of the Clearing and Settlement Agency, the consumers have to pay an additional compensatory charge (§ 48 para. 1 ÖSG 2012). The fees amount up to 37.11% of the grid utilisation and network loss charge (§§ 1 Compensatory Charge Regulation 2016 in accordance with 48 para. 1 ÖSG). 3. Revenues from sales. On the other hand, the feed-in tariff is financed from the revenues made by the Clearing and Settlement Agency from the sale of electricity from renewable sources to the electricity traders. The revenue results from the difference between the market price and the higher price electricity traders have to pay according to §37 in conjunction with § 40 ÖSG 2012. Electricity traders may pass on to the final consumers the difference between the price they pay and the market price they charge. 4. Other revenues. Other costs incurred by the Clearing and Settlement Agency, like administrative costs, investments related to the execution of its tasks (e.g. reserve capacity costs), the costs of support for new technologies and energy efficiency programmes, or bonus payments for renewable energy plants fuelled by liquid biomass or biogas (§ 21 ÖSG 2012), are recovered through the following payments (§ 42 para. 2 ÖSG 2012):
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