As the years go by, earth’s population is getting bigger, our technology is getting more advanced and the world needs to find a better, healthier, and preferably unlimited source of energy. That’s why many people see renewable energy as the future.

Austria shares this view. The country’s new government has promised to source all its electricity supply from renewable sources by 2030. They plan to do so by installing 1 million photovoltaic roofing. This incentive is inspired by the country’s goal is to become carbon neutral by 2040. At the moment only 1.4 TWh are provided from renewable sources, covering 2.5% of Austrian energy demand.

The transition to zero carbon is obviously not an easy one. Jasmin Duregger, Climate and Energy campaigner at Greenpeace CEE in Austria claims that “To stop the climate breakdown we must phase out fossil fuels and rebuild our economy solely on the basis of renewable energy”. The act will have to include legislation. The legislation will provide the needed funding and space in order to build the panels.

Even so, the program might not be the only step needed. Duregger claims that “Provided the government reaches the goal of 1 million solar roofs, it’s still not said that Austria will reach it’s 100% renewable power goal”.

Austria is not the first thinking of this type of project. A campaign by SolarPower Europe, an association of solar energy in Europe, is also promoting a similar project. Solar4Buildings is calling for photovoltaic panels to be installed on all new and renovated available buildings in the EU. According to the association, more than 90% of European rooftops are currently unused. By fitting this space with solar, up to 7 million tons of CO2 emissions can be saved each year and at least 680 TWh of renewable electricity produced.