Wolkersdorf turbine anchors Lower Austria’s wind power rise

ORF reports that a wind turbine built in Wolkersdorf in 1996 remains a symbol of the rise of wind power in Lower Austria, which now has 830 turbines.

The turbine was built by Windkraft Wolkersdorf, formed in 1995, and was one of the first wind power plants in Austria. It was the first to feed electricity into the grid. Known affectionately as “Drahdiwaberl”, it has become a landmark of the industry’s development.

At the time, wind power faced widespread scepticism, said Manfred Schamböck, who was involved in the construction and is now managing director of the Ökoenergie Group, which grew out of Windkraft Wolkersdorf. The group operates about 100 wind turbines.

“We were called eccentrics,” Schamböck said. He added that the lack of belief in the technology initially meant there were few organised opponents. Now that wind power has become a market force, he said, competing interests, some of them political, were emerging.

The turbine cost eight million schillings to build, and 238 private individuals took part in its construction. Fritz Herzog, one of the original initiators and later president of the wind power interest group, said decentralised and often private initiatives could trigger debate and sometimes lead to projects being abandoned. But, he said, the growth of renewable energy could not ultimately be stopped.

Wind power has developed more slowly in other parts of Austria. Carinthia has 10 turbines, while Vorarlberg, Tyrol and Salzburg have none. Wilfried Klauss, a Carinthian entrepreneur and long-standing partner of Ökoenergie Wolkersdorf, built Carinthia’s first turbine at the Plöcken Pass in 1997.

Klauss attributed the difference partly to politics. He said political priorities changed and that developing wind power required patience.

A dispute also continues over the cost of expanding the electricity grid. Lower Austria has argued that the costs should be shared because the many turbines in the province require grid capacity to transport electricity westwards, while Lower Austria currently bears the expense.

Stephan Pernkopf, Lower Austria’s deputy governor, said negotiations were under way but called for continued pressure on the federal government. He said Austria needed more renewable energy as oil and gas prices continued to rise, and that provinces producing renewable energy should be supported rather than penalised.