Villach and Klagenfurt team up to deliver 35,000 sq m of public solar energy

The two towns will work toward installing photovoltaic systems to produce green energy on public housing roofs

Yesterday, authorities in the city of Villach, Austria announced a new cooperation agreement with a municipal company in the nearby city of Klagenfurt - Stadtwerke Klagenfurt. The two municipalities will combine their efforts to deliver photovoltaic panels for Villach’s public housing.

According to a statement by the city, Villach has approximately 35,000 square metres of space on buildings available on their roofs – perfect for producing green energy. That area should all be covered in solar panels – dropping energy prices for residents in the 85 buildings and carbon emissions for Villach.

35,000 square metres of additional PV systems

There are around 35,000 square meters of space in the 85 public housing buildings in the city, that are suitable for mounting photovoltaic systems. Additionally, the building house around 1,300 tenants who stand to gain from this solar expansion directly – as the energy from the panels will not have a service fee to energy companies.

The project is set to cost 4 million euros and will produce around 3.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity for residents in Villach. This corresponds to around 4,300 tons in annual CO2 savings.

According to an official statement, the agreement between the two organisations should have delivered enough solar systems to produce 3,000 kilowatt hours in the next two years, however, the installation speed is only going to pick up after that.

Klagenfurt's Deputy Mayor Alois Dolinar was quoted in a press statement, expanding on the benefits of a solar expansion. Since 2020, the city has been able to start producing 1.3 million kilowatt hours of solar power, saving 500 tons of CO2 annually.

Villach Mayor Günther Albel was quoted in a press statement, saying: "We are getting closer and closer to our primary goal of acting as a city in a climate-neutral manner and avoiding as many emissions as possible. The next step is open-space PV systems - as an important addition to the roofs.”