Expansion brings new record values.

After almost perfect solar power weather in March, the long days with many hours of sunshine in June had a major impact: In June 2025, more PV power was generated in Upper Austria than ever before, with the absolute peak day being the day after the summer solstice, on June 22. So much electrical energy was generated from water and the sun that Upper Austria no longer had to import electricity, but was able to supply itself and even supply electricity to neighboring regions.

Alexander Kirchner, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Netz Oberösterreich GmbH and Chief Technology Officer of Energie AG Oberösterreich, said: "Domestic power generation makes us more independent and resilient to energy crises. A modern grid infrastructure ensures security of supply and paves the way to climate neutrality by efficiently distributing the ever-increasing share of renewable energy. That's why we are investing €2 billion in grid expansion over the coming years."

Manfred Hofer, Managing Director of Netz Oberösterreich GmbH: "We want to connect as many PV systems as possible to the power grid. Because we believe that PV expansion will continue, we also want to connect as many power storage systems as possible to the grid to ensure a reliable supply."

In the first half of 2025, the now more than 80,000 photovoltaic systems in Netz Oberösterreich's supply area generated a total of over 1 billion kilowatt-hours of solar power and fed it into the electricity grid. To be precise, 1.18 million kilowatt-hours were generated. This represents a significant increase of almost 25 percent compared to the first half of 2024, when approximately 935 million kilowatt-hours of solar power were generated.

The results from the second quarter of 2025 are particularly encouraging:
In April 2025, a new record was set for this month with 248.4 million kilowatt hours – never before has so much solar power been generated in April as this year.
The following month, the next monthly record for May followed with over 279.7 million kilowatt hours.
The absolute peak – the best PV month to date and consequently also the best June – was June 2025 with 345 million kilowatt hours.

The absolute daily peak in the first half of 2025 was June 22: On that day, more solar power was generated in a single day than ever before – and over 15.19 million kilowatt hours were also fed into the power grid.

The top 10 days of solar power generation were all recorded in June 2025 and were all above 14 million kilowatt hours.
The peak value for 2024 was on June 18, 2024, and was 12.7 million kilowatt hours.

That's why there is more and more solar power

The sharp increase in the number of installed PV systems in Upper Austria was also noticeable in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year: 6,358 new PV systems were commissioned in the first half of the year, exceeding the 80,000 system mark. This success demonstrates that many Upper Austrians are still investing in photovoltaic systems. The number of systems is growing steadily. The sunny weather is also contributing to these record yields.

The now installed PV capacity of 1,287 MWp spread across the entire supply area corresponds to the output of almost seven additional Danube power plants – which "unfortunately" all have their peak generation at the same time, around midday! "We support the efforts of our customers who want to become self-sufficient and supply others with electrical energy," says Manfred Hofer, Managing Director of Netz Oberösterreich GmbH. Despite all the sunny prospects in the solar power sector, the grid operator also sees storm clouds on the horizon: "The construction of new PV systems is significantly faster than grid expansion could ever be! To avoid endangering the secure supply of companies, businesses, farms, and households, everyone must play by the rules. Here and there, we will also need new rules," says Hofer.

In the coming months and years, however, the resulting storage problem must be addressed – so that as little electricity as possible is lost and can be shifted from peak times. Hofer: "For a successful energy future, we must get the simultaneity problem under control with our customers – this can be achieved with the increased use and installation of battery storage systems." The support for the installation of battery storage systems announced by the federal government can have a positive impact here. Of the 80,000 PV systems in the Netz Oberösterreich supply area, 30,300 are currently equipped with battery storage systems. The average storage capacity is 16 kWh, which results in a total of around 480 megawatt hours of energy storage.

Still waiting for new framework conditions

Grid expansion is essential for the success of the energy transition and a clean, renewable energy future. Grid operators like Netz Oberösterreich have been pointing out for more than a decade that the framework conditions must be adjusted accordingly. This is the only way to maintain the expansion path for renewable energies and further accelerate grid expansion.

The Supervisory Board also supports the company's clearly forward-looking course. Chairman Alexander Kirchner stated: "The legal framework designed to support us in implementing a renewable energy future must be implemented quickly." He calls for the rapid adoption of urgently needed energy legislation – for example, the Electricity Industry Act as a "new operating system for the electricity market" and the acceleration legislation for the expansion of the electricity grid and power plants.

Netz Oberösterreich alone implements several thousand grid expansion projects every year – from small to large: from the construction or reinforcement of house connections and lines to new transformer stations and substations. The company will invest approximately €2 billion in grid expansion by 2035.

• All figures only take into account the reports submitted to Netz Oberösterreich GmbH. To calculate the assumed total number for all of Upper Austria, which also includes PV systems installed by other grid operators, a factor of approximately 1.25 must be assumed.