On 1 July 2026, the new Act to Accelerate the Expansion of Renewable Energy (EABG), Federal Law Gazette I 47/2026, was promulgated. The EABG establishes a separate federal legal framework for the accelerated approval of certain energy installations. The focus is on streamlined procedures, shorter decision-making deadlines, priority areas, new planning elements and greater involvement of the federal states and local authorities.

With the adoption of the Renewable Energy Expansion Acceleration Act (EABG) on 11 June 2026, a new, uniform nationwide legal framework for the authorisation of energy installations was established. This covers, in particular, installations for generating energy from renewable sources, converting electricity into hydrogen or synthetic gas, as well as storage and transmission facilities. The aim of the Act is to implement the EU legal requirements of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) whilst significantly speeding up approval procedures for energy transition projects.

1. One-stop-shop principle

At the heart of the EABG is the one-stop-shop principle, under which a streamlined authorisation procedure is provided for installations below the EIA thresholds. All necessary authorisations are consolidated into a single procedure, thereby avoiding multiple procedures and significantly shortening decision-making times. The competent authority must apply the substantive authorisation provisions required under federal or state administrative regulations within a single procedure.

The authorisation, exemption or non-prohibition under the EABG then replaces the authorisations, permits or non-prohibitions required under the administrative provisions to be applied in conjunction with it. Unless the Act provides otherwise, the provincial governor is responsible for authorisation procedures under the EABG.

This creates a procedural model for energy installations below the EIA thresholds that builds on the procedural consolidation familiar from EIA law. In future, energy installations will require only a single procedure and a single authorisation from a single authority. The practical significance lies primarily in the fact that project-specific authorisation requirements do not have to be dealt with in several separate procedures.

2. Acceleration of proceedings

The so-called ‘structuring of proceedings’ will also have an accelerating effect, whereby the authority may set appropriate time limits for comments during the public consultation phase. If no time limit is set, supplementary submissions may only be made in writing up to one week before the oral hearing at the latest. Comments submitted after the expiry of this time limit (or these time limits) are not to be taken into account in the proceedings.

The procedural time limits are also affected by these key changes. Under the simplified procedure, the authorisation decision must, in principle, be issued within four months of receipt of the application; for certain installations listed in Annex 1, the time limit is three months. Under the notification procedure, acknowledgements of receipt must be issued within three months of receipt of the notification. For heat pumps, the standard procedure provides for a separate, shorter deadline of three months; for air-source heat pumps, this is just one month.

In addition, the EABG provides for a central electronic publication platform, service by public notice, online and hybrid hearings, preparatory work, trial and emergency operation, as well as a classification into standard procedures, simplified procedures, notification procedures and exemptions.

3. Acceleration zones and preliminary assessment

The EABG is of particular practical relevance where a project is located within a designated acceleration zone or route corridor. In such cases, the prescribed preliminary assessment may replace certain project-specific environmental assessments.

If an energy installation meets the requirements of Section 10 of the EABG, or if these can be met through mitigation or compensation measures or compensation payments, the following obligations in particular are waived: (i) the obligation to carry out an environmental impact assessment for energy transition projects subject to an EIA, (ii) to carry out a nature impact assessment (NIA) in accordance with Article 6(3) of the Habitats Directive; and (iii) the obligations under species protection law pursuant to Article 12(1) of the Habitats Directive and Article 5 of the Birds Directive.

The preliminary assessment must be carried out within 30 working days in the case of the repowering of existing installations, generation installations with a capacity of less than 150 kW and electrical transmission lines; in all other cases, it must be carried out within 45 working days. In terms of content, the authority assesses whether the installation is located within the relevant fast-track area or route corridor, whether the specified mitigation measures are being complied with, and whether it is unlikely that any significant unforeseen adverse environmental effects will occur.

With regard to the depth and scope of the assessment, the authority must limit itself to a preliminary assessment of whether significant unforeseen adverse environmental impacts from the energy installation are highly likely to occur. If the preliminary assessment of wind power, photovoltaic and energy storage installations, as well as electrical transmission lines, indicates that significant unforeseen adverse environmental impacts are highly likely to occur, mitigation measures, compensatory measures or compensation payments must be prescribed.

For authorities, this means a significant reduction in the investigative workload. At the same time, the duration of the authorisation procedures is considerably shortened. However, the prerequisite remains that no significant unforeseen environmental impacts are to be expected. This preliminary assessment does not replace an environmental impact assessment, but merely verifies whether the strategic assumptions of the acceleration area remain valid for the specific project. This procedural simplification is likely to yield the greatest practical benefits in future, particularly for wind power, photovoltaic and grid projects.

4. Overriding public interest

Furthermore, the EABG enshrines an overriding public interest in energy installations, which must be taken into account in favour of the energy transition during statutory balancing of interests. This is particularly relevant where a balancing of interests is required under applicable administrative regulations.

However, the Act provides for restrictions, particularly in the case of certain new hydropower plants to be constructed on ecologically valuable stretches of water. For these hydropower plants, a balancing of interests must be carried out in accordance with the criteria set out in the applicable administrative regulations.

The EABG thus not only implements procedural time limits and procedural streamlining, but also a substantive legal weighting in favour of energy installations within the framework of balancing decisions provided for by law.

5. Planning elements

A second key focus of the EABG concerns the upstream planning of energy and grid infrastructure. Beyond individual authorisation procedures, the EABG contains provisions on the integrated Austrian grid infrastructure plan, on route corridors and on route clearance regulations. The aim is to identify and keep areas free for future power line installations.

6. The role of the federal states in the energy transition

The federal states are also more closely involved in achieving the targets under the EABG. The provincial governments are obliged to achieve the Act’s objectives, including reaching a cumulative battery capacity of five GW across all federal states by 2030, gradually expanding electricity generation from renewable sources, and increasing the utilised heat generation potential from geothermal energy.

7. Energy Transition Participation

The Energy Transition Contribution was introduced to compensate for any impacts of energy installations on the local population (noise emissions, adverse effects on the local environment and landscape, etc.). Host municipalities may, on the basis of a resolution by the municipal council, conclude agreements with project developers regarding payments for photovoltaic and wind power plants newly constructed after the EABG came into force.

For newly constructed 380 kV power lines, the transmission system operator must pay an Energy Transition Contribution of €98,000.00 per kilometre within the municipal boundaries of the host municipality as a one-off payment.

Municipalities also have the right to propose areas for accelerated development.

8. Solar energy requirement for car parks

From 1 January 2030, solar energy installations must also be installed when constructing new covered car parks with at least three parking spaces that are structurally adjacent to a building, provided that their installation and operation are technically feasible, functionally practicable and economically reasonable.

9. Entry into force

The EABG will come into force in stages: whilst the planning instruments, including the grid infrastructure plan, right-of-way provisions, generation contribution values and energy transition participation, come into force at the end of the day on which the Act is published, the actual acceleration provisions and shortened deadlines for the approval of renewable energy installations will not come into force until 1 January 2027.

The EABG contains transitional provisions for projects already pending. Accordingly, the Act does not apply to energy installations for which at least one of the following was initiated before 1 January 2027: an approval procedure required under administrative regulations, a preliminary environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure, or a preliminary application stage of an EIA. Energy installations that have already been approved, notified or registered do not require any additional approval or notification under the EABG. Changes to energy installations for which applications or notifications are submitted on or after 1 January 2027, however, must be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the EABG.

In practice, the classification of the specific project will therefore be decisive: Does it fall within the scope of the EABG? Which type of procedure applies? Is it located in an acceleration zone or a route corridor? Do transitional provisions apply to procedures already initiated? Particularly for projects below the EIA thresholds, the EABG will therefore regularly be the central starting point for procedural law in future.

Should you have any questions or other enquiries regarding these topics, or on other matters relating to energy, transformation, climate protection and sustainability, KWR’s Energy Team will be happy to assist you at any time.