On 15 December 1978, the Austrian Parliament voted in favor of a ban (BGBI. No. 676) on using nuclear fission for Austria’s energy supply until March 1998. This law also prohibits the storage and transport of nuclear materials in or through Austria. On 9 July 1997, the Austrian Parliament unanimously passed legislation to remain an anti-nuclear country.

With more than 3,000 plants in operation, Austria has one of the most developed hydropower industries in Europe. A total installed hydropower capacity of about 14.1 GW represents about 56% of the national total. Of this, some 5.7 GW are run-of-river and 8.4 GW have pumped storage plants.

In 2017, Austria installed 63 turbines with a capacity of 196 MW, compared to 75 turbines (228 MW) in 2016. By the end of 2016, more than 2,800 MW were installed in Austria. This capacity is able to produce 7.0 TWh, which accounts for 11% of the country’s electricity consumption.

As of the end of 2014, solar power in Austria amounted to 766 megawatts (MW) of cumulative photovoltaic (PV) capacity, of which more than three quarters were installed within the last four years. Solar PV generated 766 gigawatt-hours or about 1.4% of the country’s final electricity consumption