en.Wedoany.com Reported - According to the Austrian Ministry for Economic Affairs, Austria has expanded the budget for the second round of solar and battery storage project funding in 2026 to €48.76 million, resulting in the approval of all 9,327 applications submitted.

The initial budget for this funding round was €12 million, with the application period running from June 23 to July 7. Preliminary estimates indicate that the increased budget is expected to support approximately 218.2 MW of new photovoltaic capacity and over 200 MWh of battery storage capacity.

Among the approved applications, 7,708 include battery storage systems. These figures are provisional, as not all applications have been fully reviewed, and the projects have not yet been completed and commissioned. Applications were primarily submitted from Lower Austria and Upper Austria, with Styria also submitting over 1,000 applications. Vienna had the fewest applications, with 293 solar projects, 194 of which were paired with battery storage.

Energy Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer and Energy State Secretary Elisabeth Zehetner stated that the strong response demonstrates sustained investor interest in solar and storage technologies, supporting Austria's energy transition goals.

Compared to the first funding round this year, demand has significantly increased. In the first round, approximately 5,200 applications for solar projects with or without storage were approved, representing nearly 192 MW of photovoltaic capacity and about 120 MWh of storage capacity, nearly exhausting the €40 million budget.

Austria plans to hold a third funding round this year, with the application period set for October 8 to October 22. The government has reserved €8 million for this round. Applicants are also eligible for Austria's "Made in Europe" bonus, a measure introduced after the previous funding round, which provides an additional 10% incentive for photovoltaic systems and storage projects using approved European-made equipment.

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