Austria: Schoenherr advises ÖKOENERGIE on Pillichsdorf III wind farm repowering project

The legal support included the permitting strategy, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure and other public law matters. Following the EIA permit by the Government of Lower Austria, the subsequent appeal proceedings before the Federal Administrative Court (BVwG) have also been successfully concluded. The positive outcome of the EIA now provides legal certainty for the implementation of the project.

"The repowering of the Pillichsdorf III wind farm is a strong signal for the expansion of renewable energy in Austria," said partner Christoph Jirak, who advised ÖKOENERGIE alongside partner Christian Schmelz and attorney at law Sarah Wolf. "We are pleased to have contributed to the success of this project together with ÖKOENERGIE."

As part of the repowering, five existing wind turbines will be dismantled and replaced with seven modern, higher-capacity turbines. This will increase the total output of the wind farm from 10 MW to 50.4 MW, boosting the annual electricity yield to around 105 million kWh – enough to supply over 33,000 households with clean energy.

The ÖKOENERGIE Group has been active in the field of renewable energy for nearly 30 years. In addition to wind power, it regularly implements projects in the areas of photovoltaics, biomass and hydropower in Austria and neighbouring countries.

The Schoenherr team advising ÖKOENERGIE on this project consisted of Christoph Jirak (partner), Christian Schmelz (partner) and Sarah wolf (attorney at law).