Austria's Ministry of Climate Protection and Environment on Wednesday approved a 300-million-euro ($327.6 million) budget for green energy investment subsidies for 2022, which is considered enough to add 1 terawatt-hour of electricity.

The bulk of the investment subsidy (€240 million) will be used to install new solar photovoltaic (PV) plants. Hydropower projects will receive 35.4 million euros in subsidies, while wind power plants and biomass power plants will receive a total of 4 million euros and 6 million euros in investment subsidies, respectively.

The first two applications will open on April 21. Applications for solar power plants up to 10 kW (with or without energy storage) will be accepted until May 19, and the total subsidy budget for this category is set at 40 million euros. Demand for solar plants of 10 kW to 1 MW (with or without energy storage) ends on June 2. Such assets will receive a total of 60 million euros in investment subsidies.

More calls for solar projects will be launched in August and October.

The approval of the budget is expected to boost solar expansion in Austria, as many projects are on hold until the details of the investment subsidy become clear.

The Austrian solar association PV welcomed the decision to quadruple the investment subsidy budget and increase the subsidy rate.

The investment subsidy is one of two mechanisms under the Renewable Energy Expansion Act (EAG) aimed at promoting investment in green energy in Austria. Another tool is the feed-in tariff, which is paid over a 20-year period to offset the difference between production costs and fluctuating electricity prices in the market. (1 EUR = 1.092 USD)