Kärnten weighs hydropower expansion against river protection

Carinthia wants to expand hydropower as demand for electricity rises, but opinions differ over where and how new plants should be built, ORF reported after a Radio Kärnten debate on Monday evening. Politicians, operators, fishing-rights holders and conservationists discussed the competing priorities.

Gert Gradnitzer of the Austrian Fisheries Association said the effects of hydropower were particularly clear in the Möll Valley, where power operators already make extensive use of the waterways. He said fluctuating water levels and often inadequate residual flows were harming local fish stocks.

Gradnitzer said he did not oppose hydropower expansion, provided projects were properly assessed and left enough water in streams and rivers to sustain aquatic life. Erich Auer of the Carinthian Nature Conservation Advisory Board also said hydropower should not be ruled out, but argued that impacts should be minimised through measures such as minimum flow requirements and river restoration.

More than 10 percent of energy company Verbund’s electricity comes from Carinthia, according to Gerd Frik, who heads its hydropower division. He described the region’s water resources as an asset and said the company had plans to optimise and upgrade existing plants. Verbund currently has no new hydropower plants planned in Carinthia.

Christoph Aste, spokesperson for small hydropower in Carinthia, said existing structures built across waterways could offer further potential for electricity generation. The region has around 400 recognised small hydropower plants, but they produce only 6 percent of its hydropower electricity, said energy minister Sebastian Schuschnig of the People’s Party. He said upgrading existing plants alone would not be enough and pointed to the government programme’s call for expansions where possible.

Environment minister Marika Lagger-Pöllinger of the Social Democrats said Carinthia should rely on a mix of energy sources, while acknowledging that new hydropower plants would probably still be needed. She said she would not promise that they would automatically reduce energy prices.

Lagger-Pöllinger said a regional plan should identify which stretches of river ought to be protected or restored and where there was potential for new hydropower. A previous version was not signed by the former state government, she said, adding that all parties would need to work together on a new plan.