Upper Austria Regional Energy Agency
The OÖ Energiesparverband, established by the regional government in 1991, drives the energy transition by promoting energy efficiency, renewable energy and innovative energy technologies. It provides comprehensive services to households, companies and the public sector.
Illustration : Photo by Julius Silver via Pixabay
Key activities
- face-to-face energy advice sessions (10,000 per year) for households, municipalities and companies
- a wide range of training courses on energy topics at the ESV’s Energy Academy (about 40 trainings per year)
- developing and managing funding programmes on behalf of the regional government
- supporting energy technology companies in the context of the Cleantech-Cluster (network of energy & environmental companies with 250+ partners).
- organiser of the World Sustainable Energy Days – one of Europe’s largest annual conferences on achieving climate neutrality with over 600 experts from more than 50 countries each year
- issuing or checking energy performance certificates for buildings (over 200,000 buildings so far)
- participating in EU projects (more than 40)
The region of Upper Austria – a leader region in the energy transition
Upper Austria, the most industrialised of Austria’s 9 regions with a population of 1.5 million, is well on its way in the clean energy transition. Significant progress has already been made: 73 % of the electricity, 56 % of all space heating and 31 % of the primary energy come from renewables. Through significant increases in energy efficiency and renewable energy, greenhouse gas emissions from buildings were reduced by 32 % in the past 10 years.
Upper Austria has a thriving clean energy sector. Already 2.3 billion Euro are invested each year in the energy transition: 40 % in renewables, 30 % in energy efficiency in buildings and 30 % in industrial energy efficiency and CHP. Sustainable energy as key factor in global competitiveness is a cornerstone of the region’s economic and industrial policy. The ambition is to achieve competitiveness and quality of life through energy decarbonisation. Fostering cooperation among key market actors along the entire value chain has resulted in the growth of a vibrant industry that successfully exports worldwide. The region’s progress in the energy transition is owed to its targeted energy policy approach, supported by the OÖ Energiesparverband.