History

In Kötschach-Mauthen renewable energy has been used since a long time. Already in 1886 the first water power plant was built by Anton Klauss. It was the second in Carinthia and the fifth in the K&KMonarchy. A power grid existed in Kötschach-Mauthen already in 1899, almost 14 years before a grid was built in Klagenfurt, the Carinthian capital. The grid was extended during the following years by the family Klauss, today’s owner of the grid and the utility ALPEN ADRIA ENERGIE (AAE).

Generated electricity that exceeds the regional demand is sold by the utility “Alpen Adria Energie Naturstrom GmbH” (Manager Ing. Wilfried Klauss) as “AAE-Naturstrom – 100% clean electricity” to about 6,000 consumers in Austria. A renewable power selling cooperation has been established between the “Alpen Adria Energie Naturstrom GmbH” and communities in the Waldviertel region (in the federal state Lower Austria) running wind power plants, in order to build a network of regional renewable energy producers.