Huawei Supplies Technology for Largest PV Plant in Austria

Huawei supplies technology for largest PV plant in
Austria built by Verbund and OMV

After only five months of construction, the largest domestic area photovoltaic plant has gone into operation and now the trial operation of several weeks is taking place.

  • Savings of around 10,000 tonnes of CO2 per year
  • Part of OMV's own electricity consumption is generated in a climate-friendly way using solar energy

OMV, the international integrated oil and gas company headquartered in Vienna, and VERBUND, Austria's largest electricity company and one of the largest hydropower producers in Europe, have commissioned the largest area photovoltaic plant in Austria and now the trial operation of several weeks is taking place. The construction start of the plant took place on 8 July 2020 in the presence of Elisabeth Köstinger, Federal Minister for Agriculture, Regions & Tourism, Deputy Governor Stephan Pernkopf representing Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner, Rainer Seele, Chairman of the Managing Board and CEO of OMV, Johann Pleininger, Member of the Managing Board Upstream and Deputy Chairman of the Managing Board of OMV as well as VERBUND Chairman Wolfgang Anzengruber and Deputy Chairman Michael Strugl. Michael Strugl, Deputy Chairman of the Managing Board, at the OMV site in Schönkirchen-Reyersdorf. After a construction period of only five months, the plant goes into operation.

On an OMV-owned total area of 13.3 hectares (133,200m²) in Schönkirchen/Lower Austria, the largest domestic surface photovoltaic plant with an output of 11.4 MWp is now going into operation. In the first expansion phase, a total of 34,600 PV modules installed in an east-west orientation generate 10.96 GWh of solar power, which is roughly equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 3,400 households and saves the equivalent of around 8,000 tons of CO2. Despite Corona-related delivery restrictions, the construction progress was kept on schedule and in the final expansion stage, the plant will be supplemented by a further 10,400 PV modules by the end of 2021. This will bring the total output to 14.85 MWp with a generation of 14.25 GWh, which corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of 4,400 households and saves an additional 2,400 tons of CO2 per year.

"I was able to be present at the ground-breaking ceremony for this project, and I am delighted that this plant is going into operation after only a few months of construction. It is motivating and encouraging that projects are also being built in the mining sector in Austria that combine competitiveness and climate neutrality. The energy-intensive sectors in particular need innovative and climate-friendly solutions, and this plant is an important step in this direction," says Elisabeth Köstinger, the Federal Minister responsible for mining.

"Together with VERBUND, we are today commissioning the largest area photovoltaic plant in Austria. Thanks to the commitment of the joint project team, the planned deadline was met despite challenging circumstances. As a result, we can now sustainably cover parts of our own electricity requirements with solar energy. In this way, we are making a contribution to achieving the climate targets and are consistently pursuing our path of reducing our CO2 intensity," says Rainer Seele, Chairman of the Board of Management and Chief Executive Officer of OMV.

"A joint manifesto for the energy future!", says Wolfgang Anzengruber, CEO VERBUND. "In a construction period of just five months, Austria's largest area photovoltaic plant was successfully implemented by OMV and VERBUND and goes into operation today. With cross-industry cooperations such as this, we are providing important economic impetus and making sustainable investments - the current crisis must teach us to tackle the climate crisis together as well."

"Lower Austria has been successfully focusing on the energy transition for many years. In this way we protect the climate and create jobs in the regions. The new PV plant of OMV and VERBUND is a major milestone. Projects like these show the great willingness of local companies to invest in the sustainable energy future in Lower Austria", says Stephan Pernkopf, Deputy Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner.

"With the largest area photovoltaic plant in Austria, two domestic energy giants - OMV and VERBUND - are sending a clear signal for a sustainable energy future and are themselves making an important contribution to reducing emissions. Our goal is to generate 100 percent of Austria's electricity from renewable technologies by 2030. We can only achieve this goal together with Austrian companies", says Magnus Brunner, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology.

The implementation of this project also strengthens the strategic cooperation between OMV and VERBUND. This started in 2017 with OMV's 40% stake in the e-mobility provider SMATRICS, in which VERBUND holds a further 40% and Siemens 20%. Together, refinery sites in Austria and Germany were evaluated to increase supply quality and security. In the area of green hydrogen, OMV and VERBUND are currently already working together on the UpHy project, which focuses on the production of hydrogen for use in mobility and in the refinery process.

The plant is being financed in equal parts by the two companies without any subsidies from the state or federal government, and its service life is expected to be a good 40 years. Another plant is being considered for the Mühlberg landfill site near Altlichtenwarth (Lower Austria) in the northern Weinviertel region. Abroad, Romania, Norway or New Zealand could be considered, it was said.

The first construction phase for the PV pilot plant in Schönkirchen-Reyersdorf near Gänserndorf is scheduled for completion as early as the end of 2020. By then, the first 34,600 PV modules are to be installed on a 13.3 hectare (133,200 m2) OMV site, with a further 10,400 to follow by the end of 2021.

From the end of the year, the plant is expected to generate 10.96 gigawatt hours of solar power per year, which corresponds to the consumption of 3,400 households and saves around 8,000 tons of CO2. In the final stage, 14.25 GWh will be generated (4,400 households) and an additional 2,400 tons of CO2 will be saved.