This motion was preceded by a resolution from six red mayors in Steyr and Steyr-Land. Together, the six local leaders demanded an “energy cent” for the community coffers. The background to the campaign, says Steyr’s city boss Markus Vogl, is that “many previously financially well-positioned municipalities are threatened with the existence of a community left behind.”
According to Engleitner-Neu, the expansion of the necessary energy infrastructure is currently doubly unattractive for communities: the communities lose out on possible local tax revenue (for example if the open spaces were used to locate companies instead of using them to expand energy infrastructure), and in In many cases they would also feel the anger of the residents. Therefore, something urgently needs to change in this regard.