Energy in Austria

As Austrian energy refers to the energy consumption, energy conversion, energy trading, and removing and reserves of energy sources, which are of importance for the Republic of Austria.

According to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management of the gross domestic consumption was 404 906 GWh, or exactly 1,458 petajoules of which about 502 PJ were produced in Germany in 2010. The share of renewable energy in gross inland consumption is 30.8 %.

Austria is dependent on the import of energy and energy sources, especially it is necessary for the operation of almost all internal combustion engines, natural gas and petroleum. In the international energy trade the country comes within Europe an important role as a transit country, as a large part of the imports of Western Europe from the Middle East, the Caucasus region and Russia pass through Austria, in particular by the Transalpine Pipeline and the planned Nabucco pipeline.

In 2008, the domestic natural gas production reached a volume of approximately 1.54 billion cubic meters and oil production a mass of 862,000 tons. With these flow rates Austria can meet its demand for petroleum and natural gas 11% to 13%.

• 3.1 generation 3.1.1 Austrian electricity mix
• 3.1.2 eco-electricity plants
• 3.1.3 district Heating

• 4.1 Current 4.1.1 Foreign Trade

• 5.1 Oil and Gas
• 5.2 deposits

History

Played a major role the oil. After the annexation of Austria to Germany in 1938 Erdölaufsuchung and promotion has intensified immediately, so that the oil production increased during the years of World War II on an in Austria since then no longer seen before extent. At that time there were several small refineries like the one in Korneuburg or the refinery Voesendorf. Only in 1961 the OMV refinery in Schwechat Great was erected. Even during the occupation after the war by the Allied Great Powers domestic oil became a political issue, because the Soviet Union wanted to incorporate the most part situated in its zone oil deposits for the period after the occupation of the Soviet economy.

Energy consumption

→ Main article: Energy consumption ( Austria )

The total energy consumption in Austria was 2011 1427 PJ ( 396 474 GWh) and was lower by 3.3 % than in 2010.

The energy of total energy consumption is summarized as follows:

The domestic production ( 35.7 % of total consumption) continued in 2009 as follows:

• 43.3 % renewables (mainly biomass), excluding hydropower
• 30 % hydropower
• 12.6% of natural gas
• 9.3 % Oil
• 0% coal ( coal mining was discontinued in 2005 )
• 4.8% waste

The share of renewable energies in the range of domestic energy production in 2009 was 73.3 %.

Between 1970 and 2004, the Austrian energy consumption has ( in transport, power generation, heat generation ... ) almost doubled. Natural gas consumption has quadrupled in the same period, those nearly tripled from electrical energy. Renewable energy increased by 157% and oil at 62%. After a decline in consumption in the 1980s and stagnation until the early 1990s, oil consumption increased since 1973, mainly due to the sharp increase around the turn of the century by around 30%. In contrast, the coal consumption decreased by 74%.

In the Austrian power in 2004, the share of Russian natural gas 58.6 %. Almost one fifth ( 19.7%) could promote themselves Austria, 12.6% were from Germany, and the remaining 9.1% were imported from Norway. In the case of a Supply Failure on foreign natural gas Austria can ensure the gas supply for 2-3 months by our own natural gas storage, according to OMV and RAG.

Final energy consumption - the national electricity consumption - was 2003 59.354 gigawatt hours ( GWh). This was by 5.3 terawatt hours ( TWh), or about 10% higher than in 2002, accounting for a 7.1 % increase from 2000 to 2001, the second largest increase in a year. This is almost entirely due to consumption increases in the manufacturing sector of the economy compared to 1970 but still 23% has less share of the total power consumption of Austria, since the consumption did not rise as much in the industry, as consumption in private households and service companies.

Business

The Austrian electricity market is strongly influenced by the power company majority- owned public. Each state has its own electricity supply companies who for several years through mutual investments by alliances (eg Energy Alliance) were also among themselves increasingly intertwined. In addition there are the listed operator of the Danube power plants across Austria Verbund AG, as well as numerous small power plants and several private companies, but still have little market share, as the Austrian electricity market liberalized until a few years ago, and was thus opened for private competitors. For monitoring and promotion of the competition on the electricity market regulatory authority E-Control was founded. For several years, is quite popular among electricity suppliers, the cross -border leasing. These power plants and pipeline networks will be sold to an American finance company and leased back for several decades. At the conclusion of such a contract is the buy-back option. Meaning behind this is that both parties of U.S. tax laws and business support programs benefit that will only be supporting when investing in the U.S. abroad. This business practice is known to be applied by the Linz AG, Energie AG, BEWAG and BEGAS, Verbund AG and also by TIWAG, but denied it for a long time and complained against such allegations, the complaints but lost in all instances.

The state-owned power utilities are ( in brackets ownership ):

• Burgenland: BEWAG (51% Burgenland, Burgenland Holding 49% with EVN)
• Carinthia: KELAG (51% Carinthian Energy Holding ( 51% state of Carinthia, 49 % RWE), 35.12 % Verbund AG, RWE 12.85% 1% free float )
• Lower Austria: EVN (51% State of Lower Austria, about 30% of EnBW, 5% RLB Upper Austria <14% free float )
• Upper Austria: Energy AG ( OÖ. country Holding GmbH: 52.50 %, Raiffeisen Landesbank Upper Austria Aktiengesellschaft (consortium): 13.92%, Linz AG: 10.31%, TIWAG: 8.25%, COMPOSITE AG: 5.18 % upper Bank AG (consortium): 5.16%, Energy AG Employees: 0.43%, voestalpine: 2.06% ) City: Linz AG (100 % City of Linz )
• Salzburg: Salzburg AG (74% Salzburg City and State, 26 % energy AG)
• Styria: Energie Steiermark ( Styria 75 % land, 25% of EdF, France)
• Tirol: TIWAG (100 % Tyrol )
• Vorarlberg: Vorarlberg power stations AG ( 96.51 % Illwerke Vorarlberg AG)
• Vienna: Vienna current ( 100 % City of Vienna)

In the field of petroleum and natural gas production in Austria two companies operate. OMV (Austrian Mineral Oil Administration ) and RAG ( RAG ).

Organization of the electricity industry

Austria consists only of the APG control area (Austrian Power Grid, a subsidiary of Verbund AG ), in which the formerly three control areas in Austria are members since January 1, 2012. To 31 December 2011 Vorarlberg belonged to the control area Vhf network, until 31 December 2010 the Tyrol was part of the control zone " TIWAG network ". Both control areas have now been integrated into the APG control area. Economically, the suppliers are organized in balance groups. The APCS is the balance group coordinator for the APG control area. For the control zones FMV and TIWAG the company A & B was responsible (until February 2012 for the control area TIWAG and until February 2013 for the control area FMV because in these months in each case the last second clearing for December 2010 and December 2011 will be carried out or was ).

Conversion

Power generation

Between 40 and 50 % of Austrian electricity can run out of power plants, further 20 % will be covered by storage power plants (total 64.1 TWh per year). Around 8 % of which contribute to micro-hydro power plants. The largest hydroelectric power plant operators, the composite Hydro Power AG. Currently, there are 552 running power plants, the largest being that contribute around 75 % to generate electricity by running power plants, located on the Danube and the Drava. 102 storage power plants dominate electricity generation in the high alpine areas in central and western Austria, and wear due to the greater production fluctuations also significantly to the domestic electricity exports. Pumped storage power plants, which can not be attributed by some sources to renewable energy because they use electricity from non-renewable sources of energy to pump, produced in 2004, about 2.5 TWh of electricity ( 3.9% of total energy production). A total of 60.7 % of the electrical energy produced in Austria was generated during this period by hydropower.

Coal and lignite power plants produce an additional 12 % of the domestic electricity consumption, heating oil contributes 2%. Natural gas carries depending on fluctuations in the electricity production of the power plants running at around 15 to 20% for domestic electricity generation. Other biogenic energy sources ( green power) contributed 2003 just over 1% for power generation.

The thermal power plants (mainly gas ) can be used to cover the peak power. Due to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act in Austria no nuclear power plants in operation.

Austrian electricity mix

The national electricity mix is composed of the following components:

The current proportion of unknown origin consists of the following items:

This results in approximately the following detailed listing of the Austrian electricity mix:

Renewable generating capacity

In 2007, we sourced 56% of the electrical energy generated from hydropower in Austria, 5% from wind power and 4% from biomass. About 35 % comes from fossil energy sources. Europe achieve only Iceland and Norway, higher values.

According to a more detailed break down of the year 2003, around 40 to 50 % of energy from running power plants, around 20% more storage power plants come (total 64.1 TWh per year or 230.76 PJ ) and 8 % from small hydro power plants. Other biogenic fuels contributed slightly more than 1 %. The remainder came from natural gas (depending on the fluctuations in the power production of the running power plants between 15 and 20% ), coal and lignite power plants ( 12%) and fuel oil ( 2%). The thermal power plants (mainly gas ) can be used to cover the peak power. Due to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act, Austria has no nuclear power plants.

In recent years, however, the renewable electricity share in Austria decreased and well into the future, according to plans of the Austrian electricity industry especially new gas and steam power plants are built. The proportion of planned new water and waste incineration plants is 1300 MW planned capacity, relatively low. Thus Austria is among the worst performers in terms of the implementation of Directive 2001/77/EC. The EU has laid down in Directive 2001/77/EC for each country targets for the share of renewable energies in the ( gross) power consumption. For Austria a target of 78.1 % has been committed. In determining the target in 1997, the total consumption was 56.1 TWh of electricity and it had the power generation from hydropower accounted for 37 TWh ( 66%). For 2010, the power consumption will amount to 74.6 TWh and the proportion of green electricity is then up to 45.4 TWh (E - Control). In Austria, the target is shown to be achieved because one relates the targeted 45.4 TWh to 56.1 TWh generated in 1997. In fact, the proportion in 2010 was 61 %, ie the share of renewable energy in the total power consumption is below a consequence, in 1997 the EU Commission in 2007 Austria -. counted up the rear of the EU - for the umpteenth time.

On 24 April 2009 the European Commission presented a new progress report. With 16.5% underperformance Austria is now European taillight. The intended target of 78.1 % renewable electricity share in 2010 was therefore not achieved. Austria therefore threatens an infringement procedure. In particular, in the solar power generation lags Austria to the other European countries. While in Germany 5300 MWp of photovoltaic capacity installed, there are only about 30 MWp in Austria. The amount of solar electricity produced in Germany in 2008, roughly the electricity demand in the state of Salzburg ( 4.3 billion kWh).

EU countries with clearly defined development objectives such as Germany, have the highest growth rates of green electricity. An example of this is the German development strategy for renewable energy. This strategy writes in 5 - year periods up to 2050, the growth targets per energy carrier fixed (wind, solar, hydro, biomass and geothermal energy). A corresponding Austrian expansion strategy for all renewable energy sources such as for example in Germany is not available.

District heating

Combined heat and power (CHP ) make waste heat from the combustion of fuels used for district heating. Electricity generation is here only minimally reduced, thereby increasing the efficiency increases overall. 52 % of these facilities are located in gas power plants, 15 % in plants for the combustion of petroleum, plants for combustion of biogenic fuels represented 21 % of the district heat production, and for 6 % combustible wastes are responsible. Lignite and hard coal power stations contribute 6 % to the district heating production. District heating from CHP -enabled systems comes to one percent also from the incineration of industrial and urban waste, such as. from the investment of disposal Simmering the main sewage treatment plant Vienna is connected.

The district heating pipeline network in 2003 was approximately 3430 km long and will be further expanded. 16.6 % of all households in Austria, or around 549,000 were supplied with district heating in 2003.

Transportation / trade

Energy imports and exports - both in the form of electrical energy as well as energy sources such as oil - are on the rise, with the energy imports times make as much to an extent equivalent to almost 1,100 petajoules ( PJ ) for 7, as energy exports from 150 PJ (2003 ). Can the electrical energy needs are covered for the most part from our own production, resulting in the overall balance a dependency of 69 % on energy imports.

In 2003 made ​​39.4 % of its energy exports petroleum products (mainly diesel and gasoline, crude oil only minimally ) from current 31.4%, and 5.1% renewable energy. The first exported in 2000, natural gas already accounted for 24.1% of energy exports.

The Energy imports sat down to 55 % from crude oil (of which 60% from OPEC countries ) to 25.8 % from natural gas, 12,5 % from coal, to 6.1% of electrical energy and to 0.6 % together from renewable energy sources.

2003 6.46 billion euros were thus spent on energy imports, while 2 billion euros could be saved by energy exports, of which approximately 75 % of the proceeds derived from the export of electricity against the quantitative distribution of the exports. As the only source of energy consumption declined in coal, by about a third.

Current

Electrical energy is transported in a 10,000 km long power line network with the different voltages of 380 kV, 220 kV and 110 kV. Redistribution to the end user via Central (6 kV to 36 kV) and low voltage networks with typically 230 V/400 V. Austria is by connecting to foreign power grids part of the European ENTSO-E network.

Electricity exports take place mainly from West Austria to Germany. There peak current is exchanged in the ratio 1:4 (1 kW peak load of 4 kW base load ) with Bavaria and Baden- Württemberg. Through this exchange of electricity and nuclear power arrived in Austria and is among other things used in pumped storage power plants to compensate for the peak load. The export quantities to Germany to stay for some decades with fluctuations at about the same level. Especially since 1990, the current export to Switzerland rises sharply and has taken less than 10 % with nearly 36 % in 2012 Germany (28%) out of date. Exports to Slovenia (2012: 20%) and Hungary ( 2012: 11%) also show an upward trend, while exports to Italy (2012: 5%) are largely constant. A total of 2012 electric power to the extent of 22 622 GWh was exported.

Electricity imports traditionally derived largely from the Czech Republic ( 40% as of 2012) and Germany (58%), which are higher than exports. Total imports amounted to 2012 25.989 GWh.

Foreign trade

Petroleum

The oil imports via the Transalpine Pipeline (TAL ), which in the port of Trieste has its starting and reaches through Carinthia and Tyrol in Oberkappel Germany. Shortly after the Italian-Austrian border at Arnold Stein branches off of her in Würmlach in Kötschach -Mauthen, where there is also a storage tank is, the Adria- Wien Pipeline ( AWP ), which leads to the Schwechat refinery, the only refinery in Austria. Nearly all oil imports effected in this way - only Czech and Slovak with no oil tank-trucks to Austria.

In planning the construction of a crude oil pipeline between Bratislava (Slovakia) and the Schwechat refinery, the OMV and the Slovak pipeline operator TransPetrol have fixed (100 % in the Slovak state -owned) in December 2003. The 60 km long Bratislava -Schwechat pipeline (BSP ) is planned with a total capacity of 2.5 million tons per year. For immediate start of construction (as of 2009 ) it could be put into operation in 2011 /2012. By connecting to the existing 3,000 -kilometer-long Russian pipeline network ( Druzhba ), this line will allow direct import of Russian crude oil to the refinery in Schwechat.

The total length of oil pipelines in Austria is 663 km.

The major crude oil suppliers were 2011 (all figures rounded): Kazakhstan (. 2.1 million t), Nigeria ( 1.2 million tonnes ), Russia ( 1.2 million tons ), Saudi Arabia ( 800,000 t), Iraq ( 800,000 t), Libya ( 800,000 t in 2010 to 1.6 million tonnes), Algeria ( 200,000 t) and Syria ( 200,000 t).

Natural gas

Natural gas imports were made with conditions 2003 to 74.4 % from the CIS, which is handled entirely by OMV. 12.4% were from Norway and 13.2% in Germany, in which case it cooperates with Austria OMV Gas GmbH remote. Since 1968, a natural gas supply contract with Russia exists. Austria was thus the first country outside the COMECON with which the former Soviet Union such a contract completed. Responsible for export here is the gas exports, a subsidiary of Gazprom. Since 1986, a treaty of OMV Gas GmbH and Austria remote with the Norwegian Troll consortium exists. The German import contracts were signed by the Austrian national companies (Vorarlberg, Tyrol, Salzburg and Upper Austria ) with Ruhrgas. Since 1970, the total natural gas imported in Austria increased from 1 million m³ to 8 million cubic meters by 2003.

Through Austria lost several major natural gas pipelines (see chart; PDF; 327 kB):

• Trans-Austria -Gas-Pipeline (TAG): crosses Austria from Baumgarten an der March, which lies directly on the border with Slovakia and a distribution point for the coming from Eastern Europe gas represents, south-west to the Italian border and provides a connection between Trieste, Southern Italy and Africa to the south, as well as Ukraine and Russia in the east.
• West-Austria -Gas-Pipeline (WAG ) also begins on the Slovakian border at Baumgarten an der March, but extends beyond the Bohemian massif towards the west, where they Rain creek crosses at Freistadt and in Oberkappel the border happened to Germany.
• Hunga -Austria -Gas-Pipeline ( HAG): Runs from Baumgarten over northern Burgenland to Hungary.
• Southeast line ( SOL): Runs from Graz via Murfeld to Slovenia.
• Penta West ( PW): runs from Oberkappel (connection to the WAG ) through the Upper Austrian Innviertel to Burghausen in Bavaria.
• Another pipeline linking the gas fields and storage of Auersthal and Tallesbrunn or the transfer station Baumgarten south of the Danube by means of a running track on Tulln and Amstetten with Linz, where the line joins gas transmission in the network of Upper Austria.
• Tyrol - Italy - Bavaria - connection line ( TIBA ): This is currently in planning line is to be conducted from Burghausen to Kufstein, where connection should be made to the existing Tyrolean pipe network, and south through East Tyrol are led by Italy in the further course.

The node for the major natural gas pipelines in Austria is the Lower Austrian Baumgarten an der March, where since 1959, when the funding agency Zwerndorf was developed, from the east (mainly Russia) derived natural gas and for domestic consumption as well as to Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, France Hungary is diverted. The total length of natural gas pipelines in Austria is 2722 km. Currently, the Nabucco pipeline is planned that 2011 should be completed, and the distribution center Baumgarten is to connect with Turkey. About the actual construction of this 4.6 billion euro project will be decided by the end of 2007 at the latest. At the same time the memory near Baumgarten be greatly expanded jointly by OMV and Gazprom which Gazprom would go directly into the retail business in Western Europe.

Degradation and reserves

Oil and Gas

In the oil and natural gas production (natural gas, petroleum gas ) two companies are active in Austria. OMV Aktiengesellschaft ( OMV) and RAG (RAG ) employs about 900 people, but now much of the drilling activities and special maintenance is subcontracted out. Oil production amounted to 2006 945 thousand tonnes, according to 933 thousand tonnes in the previous year. The slight increase was reached by a larger oil discovery in Upper Austria as well as production-enhancing measures in the oil fields in Lower Austria. In 1970, about 3 million tons of oil have been promoted and 1955, the funding record was achieved with 3.67 million tonnes.

Natural gas production increased from a low in 1986 to a year, because since then new natural gas deposits are developed in Lower Austria and in the Molasse zone of Upper Austria and Salzburg regularly. Since a peak in 2003 at 2,030 billion cubic meters, however, the natural gas production is declining again. The promotion was 2006 1.511 bcm (including associated gas from oil production 1.765 billion m³).

90 % of oil production in 2006 came from the OMV, the remaining 10% of the RAG. When natural gas came in 2006 71 % of OMV and 29% of the RAG.

Because of an annual discoveries the amount of known oil reserves in Austria since 1995, remains relatively constant. Are known with as of 2003 occurrences of 12 million tonnes, with current output of around 1 million tonnes per year for about 12 years would be enough, so in 2015, no further discoveries should be made, which is not assumed. In late autumn 2007 to be started with the promotion of a 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas occurrence in Ebenthal. Only a few kilometers away, in Strasshof, to the first quarter of 2008, a four billion cubic meters of natural gas large source can be used. Both instances are part of the largest contiguous oil and gas field in Central Europe, in 1949 discovered Matzen field, northeast of Vienna.

Deposits

Due to legal regulations petroleum equivalents must be stored in stock at a certain height. This takes next to OMV and RAG also the ELG (petroleum - storage company) and petroleum Importers must keep the emergency reserve duty. In total, this resulted in a 2003 inventory of 1.86 million tons of oil equivalents.

To compensate for seasonal price fluctuations and consumption of natural gas, natural gas is increasingly being incorporated into underground storage facilities, where Austria has adopted a leading position in Europe in the proportion of the incorporated annual requirements. As storage depleted gas reservoirs are used. 2008 could be incorporated into the five in operation save around 4 bcm of natural gas, representing about 40 % of the annual requirement.

OMV operates underground storage in Schoenkirchen - Reyersdorf (1.57 bcm ), Tallesbrunn (300 million m³) and Thann in Steyr (250 million m³). The central monitoring station for natural gas transportation and storage is located in Auersthal. The memory Schoenkirchen low at around 2 billion cubic meters of storage capacity is under construction (completed in two stages in 2011 and 2015).

RAG operates underground storage in Puchkirchen (860 million m³) and in Haidach in Straßwalchen ( 1.2 billion cubic meters by 2011, expanding to 2.7 billion cubic meters ) on the border of Upper Austria / Salzburg. An extension of the memory Puchkirchen through the former gas field Hague at the house jerk ( 300 million m³) is under construction. More memory together with 2 billion cubic meters are in the border region of Upper Austria / Salzburg in planning.