Austria in the energy crisis: Fossil fuels dominate!

Austria in the energy crisis: Fossil fuels dominate!

On May 29, 2025, Austria exhausted its calculated self-supply with renewable energies. Since May 30, 2025, the country has now relied on fossil fuels for the remaining annual requirements, almost all of which have to be imported. This dependence on fossil energy sources is only partially alleviated by ongoing progress in the field of renewable energies, emphasizes Franz Angerer, Managing Director of the Austrian Energy Agency. Austria currently covers 41 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources, including hydropower, wind energy, solar energy and biomass.

Fossil fuels, on the other hand, account for 59 percent of the energy requirement. Of this, 35 percent comes from petroleum products, which represent the largest share. However, Austria is enjoying positive developments in the electricity sector: in 2024, the country exported more electricity than it imported for the first time since 2000. This improvement is due to favorable water supply and the progressive expansion of renewable energy sources.

Growth of renewable energies

Photovoltaics is showing the strongest growth among renewable energies. In 2020, 341 MW of new photovoltaic systems were installed, while over 2,200 MW were added in 2023 and 2024. The total installed photovoltaic output is now almost 9,000 MWp. In the electricity sector, 88 percent of energy now comes from renewable sources, primarily hydropower, wind and solar energy as well as bioenergy.

In the heating sector, the share of renewable energies is around 40 percent. This is mainly achieved through biomass and an increasing number of heat pumps. In the transport sector, the share of renewable energies is lowest at around 13 percent, with biofuels and electromobility being the main players. According to that Federal Environment Agency The most important renewable energy sources in Austria are hydropower and wind power. The latter contributes almost 10 percent to the electricity supply, while hydropower covers more than half of the electricity needs.

A look at electricity generation

The share of natural gas in electricity production remains constant and is important for network stability, although hard coal is only used in industrial electricity generation plants. Additionally, electricity imports have declined in recent years, from 12 percent in 2018 to 3 percent in 2020, indicating increasing independence from fossil fuels. Nevertheless, electricity market prices rose significantly after the separation of the German-Austrian price zone at the end of 2018, leading to a three-fold increase in prices between summer 2021 and February 2022.

The situation surrounding energy costs has prompted the government to introduce measures to provide relief for household, commercial and industrial customers. These include suspending the green electricity flat rate, setting the funding contribution to zero and reducing electricity and natural gas taxes. Further information about energy supply and current developments can be found on the website Eurostat.