The project INSPIRED Regions (INtegration of Smart Power grids to Invigorate Rural Economic Development in Regions) was dedicated to the economic potentials that emerge in the rural regions with the implementation of smart grid solutions. The project paid particular attention to the specific national objectives of Austria. Smart grids have two major effects in this regard: for the producer side an increased revenue through better integration of decentral renewable energy sources into the existing medium and low voltage networks and on the consumer side potential savings from an increased flexibility of consumption.
Smart grids on the one hand ensure that locally available renewable resources can be utilized to a large extent. On the other hand this enables the regional entities to retrieve at least partly the additional grid charges imposed for renewable power. This also may strengthen regional energy sovereignty, as electricity imports from extra regional sources may be substituted. Additional economic benefits arise with the expansion of the respective technologies and in the case of regionally available know-how.
