1st Alpine Energy Forum

Tirol’s IV renews call for the expansion of hydropower

Tyrolean IV President Max Kloger (right) and Gerald Zenz from Graz University of Technology invited the media to a discussion before the forum.(Bild: Manuel Schwaiger)

The first Alpine Energy Forum took place in Innsbruck on Monday. In the run-up to the event, the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV) made a familiar call to bring about the energy transition. This is likely to once again bring the Austrian Environmental Ombudsman's Office onto the scene.

How can we achieve the energy transition in the Alpine region, what challenges need to be overcome and what solutions are there? These three key questions were the focus of the first Alpine Energy Forum at Congress Innsbruck, which was organized on Monday by the Tyrolean Industrial Association (IV) together with the Chamber of Commerce, the Energy Agency, the Location Agency and the Association of Municipalities.

In the run-up to the event, IV President Max Kloger and Gerald Zenz from Graz University of Technology hosted a press conference. The IV boss made a familiar demand to politicians: the expansion of hydropower.

In Tyrol, we currently have an annual energy consumption of 25,000 gigawatt hours. We need to reduce this to 17,000 gigawatt hours over the next few years.

Max Kloger

"This would also reduce energy prices"
"In Tyrol, we currently have an annual energy consumption of 25,000 gigawatt hours. We need to reduce this to 17,000 gigawatt hours in the next few years," says Kloger, who goes on to calculate that "to achieve this, we need to increase current electricity generation from 7580 to 9480 gigawatt hours."

This would only be possible if wind power, photovoltaics, geothermal energy and, above all, hydropower were further expanded. "This would also bring down energy prices, which are now two and a half times higher than four years ago."

"Otherwise the economy suffers and there is a lack of progress"
In response to the Krone's comment that, as in the past, the Provincial Environmental Ombudsman will probably speak out against hydropower expansion plans, Kloger says: "Without the energy transition, the economy will suffer and there will be no progress. The expansion of hydropower is an essential lever. But it is clear that we need to conduct the discussion objectively and that the Environmental Ombudsman is a very important institution."

It is clear that we need to conduct the discussion objectively and that the Provincial Environmental Ombudsman is a very important institution.

Max Kloger

Additional demand of 26 terawatt hours
Meanwhile, Zenz calculated that "in Austria, we need an additional 26 terawatt hours in order to meet our current electricity demand of 72 terawatt hours entirely from renewable sources. This corresponds to an additional demand of 30 percent".

However, this would be impossible without the expansion of hydro, solar and wind energy.