In addition to promoting the use of renewable energy sources, one of the main strategies of Austria’s energy policy is to reduce the demand for energy, through sound use of energy and by improving the efficiency with which energy is employed.
In its programme the Austrian federal government has specified the development of a renewable energy system as one of the major challenges in the coming years. One of the most important areas of activity for the federal government in this regard is the enhancement of energy efficiency and the economical use of energy.
From a long-term perspective, energy efficiency has improved considerably. While the real gross domestic product in Austria increased by 127.7 % between 1973 and 2010, gross domestic consumption in 2010 was only 58,6 % above the level in 1973, representing a comparatively modest increase. Austria’s relative energy consumption, i.e. the total amount of energy required to generate one unit of gross domestic product, has thus decreased by 30.4 %.
At the international level, by comparison, Austria’s achievements in improving energy efficiency are remarkable. When measured in terms of economic performance, Austria is one of the countries that make particularly economical use of energy. Total energy consumption in Austria per US$1,000 of GDP was 0.1450 tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) in 2009 (at the prices and exchange rates for 2000). At this level Austria is well below the average for OECD countries (0.1768 toe) and also below the level for most EU Member States, putting Austria in fourth place compared with the rest of the EU.
Measures for increasing energy efficiency contribute towards achieving the following objectives:
- Security of energy supply
- An environmentally compatible supply of energy
- An economically efficient supply of energy
- Social acceptance of the energy supply system
Energy efficiency has additional benefits for the Austrian economy, specifically in the area of foreign trade (less energy is imported) and the labour market (measures for increasing energy efficiency are labour-intensive).
Both at the federal government and Länder (federal state) levels, Austria has implemented a number of instruments and measures for saving energy and improving energy efficiency. Besides regulation, these measures concern the areas of research, technological development and demonstration and are aimed at promoting market penetration as well as spreading information and promoting financial incentives for implementing suitable measures.
The current government programme also includes specific measures for improving energy efficiency and relieving pressure on the environment. Some examples:
- Use of innovative heating and water heating systems with a positive climatic impact will be required in future in order to benefit from government housing subsidies.
- By way of an incentive for thermal renovation (insulation, window replacement, boiler replacement etc.), the federal government has introduced in March 2011 an incentive programme with funding (totalling € 400m till 2014) that will be distributed equally between private households and companies.
The area of energy efficiency is also being given increasingly higher priority at the EU level. Competitiveness, sustainability and the secure supply of energy are all aspects of a new Energy Policy for Europe, and energy efficiency represents a key method in the development of such a policy.
Half of this potential for saving energy could be realised by fully implementing the existing measures, particularly through Directives that have already come into force such as the Energy End-use Efficiency and Energy Services Directive. Comprehensive rules already exist in Europe, in particular for buildings and for appliances and equipment.
The potential for saving energy with modern drive systems is far from having been exploited. This potential needs to be realised.
