Power plant over 250 kW – Authorisation for a significant modification See explanation of the designation of:

The significant modification of power plants with a bottleneck capacity of more than 250 kW requires authorisation.

Without prejudice to any other provisions of federal and provincial law, power plants and electrical wiring installations must be constructed, modified, operated, maintained and repaired in all their parts in such a way that:

a) corresponds to the state of the art, in particular to building, safety and fire-safety requirements;

b) through their existence and operation:

1. does not endanger the life or health of human beings or the safety of property, other rights in rem or rights of use under public law in the form of forest or grazing rights, special field easements or partial forest rights (the possibility of a mere reduction in market value does not constitute a threat); and

2. does not unreasonably disturb people through noise, odour, smoke, shocks, heat, light or mechanical vibrations or in any other way; whether disturbances are reasonable is to be assessed according to how the changes in the actual local conditions caused by the plant or installation affect a healthy, normally sensitive child and a healthy, normally sensitive adult;

c) does not significantly affect nature, the landscape or the character of the location;

d) ensures efficient energy generation;

e) takes into consideration the outcome of the cost-benefit analysis; and

f) has no adverse impact on the operation of the distribution network (best possible cluster).

In order to obtain an operating permit, an application must be submitted to the authority in writing. An on-site inspection must be carried out before a decision on the application is made. The operating permit must be granted if the project that is subject to the construction permit has been carried out accordingly. If the project carried out deviates from the construction permit and this deviation does not constitute a substantial change, the changes must be authorised together with the granting of the operating permit. In the event of other deviations, the operating permit must be refused, and at the same time a reasonable deadline must be set for filing a subsequent application for the granting of a construction permit for the modification.

A power plant may not be significantly modified until a decision has been made by the authority.

The authorities must make a decision on a complete application without undue delay, but within 6 months at the latest, by means of a decision.

Application for permit – preliminary examination procedure - investigation procedure with on-site inspection – decision

The application must be accompanied by a project (plan) drawn up by a person authorised to do so, and by two copies of all other documents required to assess the admissibility of the project in accordance with the Tyrolean Electricity Act (Tiroler Elektrizitätsgesetz) 2012. The following must always be enclosed:

a) a technical description of the project, stating the name of the author, the purpose, scope, bottleneck capacity, raw-energy sources and other operating resources used, energy efficiency, operating resources, operating times, propulsion method, performance, annual working capacity, type of current and all planned machinery and equipment; in particular, information on the contribution of the generation capacities to achieving the European Union’s target of increasing the coverage of gross energy consumption using energy from renewable sources; and information on how the generation capacities contribute to reducing emissions;

b) the necessary plans, descriptions and drawings, in particular a site plan showing the properties affected by the project, an overview map, construction and operating descriptions, drawings and system diagrams (overview circuit diagram);

c) information on the expected effects within the meaning of Section 5 and the measures envisaged to prevent or reduce them;

d) proof of ownership of the land on which the project is intended to be carried out or, if the applicant is not the landowner, a declaration of consent issued by the landowner, unless the project may be subject to expropriation or the granting of coercive rights;

e) a list of the plots of land adjacent to the property referred to in point (d), indicating the property numbers, land-registry numbers and cadastral municipality(-ies), and the names and addresses of the respective owners;

f) the names and addresses of the persons with rights in rem over the properties referred to in points (d) and (e), with the exception of lienholders, and of the persons entitled to rights of use under public law within the meaning of Section 5(1)(b)(1) TEG;

g) a technical safety analysis and information on the measures envisaged to prevent incidents or to reduce their effects; and

h) information on any interaction or collaboration with existing electricity undertakings.

Administrative charges; fees under the Fees Act; other costs

• The District Authority
• Tyrolean state government, Abteilung Wasser-, Forst- und Energierecht

District authority - for systems up to and including 500 kW

State government - Department of Water, Forestry and Energy Law - for systems over 500 kW

The application does not have to be signed electronically – using a mobile phone signature (Handy-Signatur) or E-ID – or by hand.

Tyrol Electricity Act 2012

General Administrative Procedure Act (Allgemeines Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz) 1991

Fees Act (Gebührengesetz) 1957

Provincial Administrative Charges Regulation (Landes-Verwaltungsabgabenverordnung) 2007

Appeals against administrative decisions can be lodged with the Regional Administrative Court. The appeal must specify the contested decision and the authority that issued it. It must contain a request and set out the grounds on which the allegation of illegality is based. The appeal must be filed in writing to the district administrative authority that issued the decision within 4 weeks of the date of notification of the decision and must contain information that makes it possible to assess its timeliness. The district administrative authority may issue a preliminary appeal decision. The appeal may be filed electronically: Appeal in administrative proceedings.

If the administrative authority fails to make a decision within 6 months, you have the option of filing a complaint before the Regional Administrative Court regarding the delay. It must be filed with the defaulting district administrative authority. The complaint must specify that authority, set out a specific request and demonstrate that the authority’s time limit for making a decision has expired.