What is green electricity?
What is green electricity?
Generally speaking, the term "green electricity" describes the generation of electric energy from renewable energy sources.
Electricity can be generated from renewable energy sources that do not require raw materials:
Hydropower | Wind power | Solar power | Geothermal energy |
Generation from other renewable sources of energy depends on the following raw materials:
Gaseous, solid or liquid biomass as well as sewage and landfill gas |
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The term "green electricity" is thus precisely defined and the distinction from the so-called conventional generation methods is clear. The latter rely on other sources of energy such as natural gas, coal or petroleum.
Supported green electricity
Not all methods of green electricity generation are eligible for financial support. In Austria, green electricity produced in wind, biomass and photovoltaic plants as well as new hydropower plants up to a certain generation capacity are subsidised. Larger hydropower plants are not subsidised because they usually yield profits without support.