Upper Austrian Energy Plan

In 1994, the Upper Austrian Energy Plan established targets to reduce fossil fuel consumption, improve energy efficiency and increase the use of renewable energy in the region. These targets, which were met, included reducing domestic energy use by 20% and increasing the proportion of energy provided from renewable sources to 30% by 2000. The Upper Austrian Energy Agency has been one of the main promoters of actions to achieve these targets, and has been very successful through a combination of support measures from both national and local sources, combined with a high level of information dissemination activities to raise awareness in the region. More than 500 000 m2 of thermal solar collectors had been installed in Upper Austria by 2000 as a result of the energy plan. They are used for space and water heating, mainly in residences. By 2000, the region had about 0.4 m2 of installed solar collectors per inhabitant, one of the highest densities of solar collectors per capita in Europe. Similar initiatives are being implemented in other Austrian regions, supported through local or regional energy plans.