From the National Council up to the wind turbine
10/2021 - Back to overview
Green members of parliament visited wind farm Spannberg
What a view the Green members of the Austrian National Council, Lukas Hammer, Elisabeth Götze and Martin Litschauer as well as the Green councilwoman Bettina Bergauer enjoyed on Sunday, October 2, 2021. In Spannberg they climbed up a wind turbine of WEB Windenergie AG of about 100 meters. Afterwards the politicians had an animated conversation with the W.E.B Board of Directors, Frank Dumeier and Michael Trcka, and exchanged thoughts and ideas on how to master the climate crisis. Their focus was on the just recently adopted Renewable Energy Expansion Act (Erneuerbaren-Ausbau-Gesetz) (“EAG”) as well as the sustainable production of power from wind and sun.
“The expansion of wind power is one of the pillars of the energy transition. Adopted in July, the Renewable Energy Expansion Act enables us to ensure sufficient subsidies for the next ten years, so each and every approved project can be implemented. Now it is up to our federal provinces: they need to provide more space for this further expansion,” as the climate and energy policy spokesperson for the Green Party, Lukas Hammer, pointed out with regard to the urgent need for putting the Renewable Energy Expansion Act into practice.
The party’s economy and innovation policy spokesperson, Elisabeth Götze, was impressed by the technology, “Humans have been using wind energy for centuries. While the technology is rather simple, we are generating unbelievable amounts of electricity! Not only this fact but also the magnificent view from the wind turbine are nothing short of awe-inspiring!”
The anti-nuclear energy spokesperson, Martin Litschauer, identifies the dynamic further development of renewable energy as a key element of the energy transition, “Climbing the wind turbine in the Weinviertel region was a terrific opportunity to find out more about the latest developments in the field of wind and solar power. It is so exciting to see that wind power and photovoltaics will become even more efficient in hybrid power plants, and that even agrivoltaics are becoming increasingly important to create a double benefit of agriculture.”
WEB Windenergie AG was just as enthusiastic about the visit. “The path towards a sustainable future is based on collaboration. The Renewable Energy Expansion Act is a solid foundation to do that. Now the time has come to breathe life into this law. We are ready,” states W.E.B CEO Frank Dumeier. And W.E.B CFO Michael Trcka adds, “We produce clean power for our society. It is always nice to show people how we actually do that. Today’s visit was an immense pleasure.”
The last item on the agenda was a visit of Spannberg III, a wind farm still under construction. The visitors had the opportunity to see the construction site. Everyone ultimately agreed: Austria needs a lot more similar construction sites in the next few years in order to accomplish the target of 100% renewable energy by 2030.