Energy-related data

The energy transition requires new, sustainable energy supply solutions – from private PV systems on the roof to large wind farms and heating networks. However, this also raises many new questions: What am I allowed to do where? Which European and national requirements and targets need to be taken into account? And for municipalities and regions: What tasks will the administration be faced with and how can the new solutions be integrated into the administrative structures? The SIR provides support in answering these questions.

For more than a decade now, the SIR has been working on the preparation of the basic information required for effective energy planning. In close co-operation with researchers, provincial governments and energy suppliers from all over Austria, a sound basis has been created through various research projects. By processing hundreds of data sources and thousands of individual attributes, the developed system can provide well-founded information in the areas of building data, energy requirements, energy supply infrastructure and renewable energy sources for specific buildings. The information is integrated into SAGIS and made available for a wide range of applications. At the same time, research projects are constantly working on further improving, deepening and broadening the information – and preparing it for later use in real-life operations.

Local authorities at all levels of governance are setting themselves ambitious targets in the area of climate protection and the energy transition. At the same time, it is not always clear which instruments are actually available to support these goals. Options for action and decision-making must be worked out on the basis of the given legal framework and subsequently mapped in the administrative processes in such a way that efficient handling is possible. One example in the context of energy planning is zoning. In areas with specific characteristics (e.g. areas that are fundamentally suitable for a grid-connected heat supply due to their heat demand), specific solutions (e.g. connection to or construction of a heating grid) could be promoted through regulatory instruments (e.g. development planning).

At the SIR, we are constantly monitoring the development of the legal framework and the emerging tasks for the regions and municipalities and are not only developing the information basis necessary for decision-making, but are also endeavouring to directly support process innovation by developing new decision-making routines together with the local authorities.

Spatial energy planning is used in a wide variety of areas: From strategy development, monitoring and reporting to local spatial planning and municipal heat planning, including project development (buildings and infrastructure) to information and consulting. In order to be able to take the complex subject of energy into account in the respective processes, an easy-to-understand, user-centred preparation is required. With the energy atlas in SAGIS, automated analyses, e.g. for energy in the spatial development concept or for area developments, as well as the EnergyCompass and dashboard solutions, we use various forms of presentation for compact and target group-oriented communication.