We can make Austria faster – and we should

Austria has the potential to move faster, not just in its energy transition, but in many areas. However, the country is frequently caught in a "two-thirds trap," a political stalemate that slows down crucial reforms, as exemplified by the ongoing debate surrounding the "Renewable Energy Expansion Acceleration Act."

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This law will go down. At least in the media.

The government is set to vote on a legislative package that could significantly advance Austria's progress. This "Renewable Energy Expansion Acceleration Act" aims to designate the expansion of critical energy infrastructure as a matter of overriding public interest. By drastically shortening the years-long approval procedures for essential components like electricity storage facilities, power lines, and renewable energy plants, the law promises to enhance national security and reduce electricity costs for citizens. A study suggests each terawatt-hour of domestically produced clean electricity could lower prices by 2.1 euros per megawatt-hour.

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Because the 'Renewable Energy Expansion Acceleration Act' does exactly what it sounds like: It declares the expansion of critical energy infrastructure as an overriding public interest and thus drastically shortens the years-long approval procedures for the construction of necessary electricity storage, lines, and green power plants.

Despite the potential benefits, the path forward is complicated. Energy policy in Austria often requires a "two-thirds majority," making it dependent on the cooperation of opposition parties. The FPÖ has largely opted for total opposition, removing itself from constructive dialogue. Meanwhile, the Green Party, a key player in the energy transition, has been hesitant, even announcing the breakdown of negotiations. While these tactical and substantive reasons are understandable from a party perspective, they are ultimately detrimental to the country's progress.

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But it's not that simple anyway. Because energy policy in this republic is always dependent on the goodwill of the respective opposition parties as a 'two-thirds matter' and therefore moves forward accordingly slowly.

The Green Party faces pressure from both the wind and solar industries, as well as environmental protection organizations, who are wary of faster development potentially impacting Austria's rivers. Furthermore, the Greens rightly point out that the hoped-for acceleration of the energy transition will only be fully realized if the ÖVP and SPÖ dare to counter the persistent obstruction from many conservative and social-democratic-led federal states. Simply setting higher targets is insufficient when regional leaders actively oppose the renewable energy expansion for political gain. The fact that the established "grand coalition" parties already dismiss attempts at reform as "Mission Impossible" bodes poorly for other necessary reforms in the republic.

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The Öko-Partei (Green Party) not only serves the wind and solar lobby in the country, but also the environmental protection organizations. And they are not happy when Austria's rivers, for example, can now be built over faster.