Energy park Micheldorf-Hirt

Status

ongoing

Summary

The project aims at establishing a new sustainable basis for the energy supply for an area of 50 km² and 2000 inhabitants in the region of Micheldorf-Hirt in the heart of Carinthia. In this area the following companies, private buildings and public buildings are located: the brewery of Hirt, the saw mill of Hirt, the diocese of Gurk, the wellness hotel Agathenhof, the joiner DANA, the business park Pauer, fireplace Pilgram, the power station service company Kraftwerkservice GmbH, the machine manufacturing Stromberger & Kollmann Maschinenbau & Automatisierung, the painter Vince Nat Malerei, the public buildings of the municipality of Micheldorf, etc. Most of the companies have already looked for opportunities in the past, to supply their energy demand with renewable resources. However they did this in isolation, not systematically considering all choices and not in coordination.

The project provides for a new approach, to analyse the regional energy supply system in a holistic and systemic way by systematically bringing together the communities, the companies and external experts in a moderated process. It combines a participatory approach, a systems analysis and expertly presented and analysed potential alternatives. This guarantees at the same time, that the best solution by ecological, social and economic criteria is discerned and implemented, because all the stakeholders are part of the solution finding process, can understand the criteria by which the solution was defined, were integrated into the process and thus support the solution. The concept is based on the analysis of the individual energy consumers and their potential for savings and the eclipsing of the requirements of the system elements.

In the energy concept of the whole system - and this is an important innovation - the individual technologies to use regenerative energy sources are combined in a way, so that e. g. energy is cascaded, that the use of waste heat and secondary raw materials are integrated and that certain production line in terms of timing and load are coordinated in a way to guarantee the best possible total energy and resource efficiency of the model system Micheldorf-Hirt.

The expected solution will realise the future supply of the region, the public buildings and the companies completely with an adapted, regional, renewable energy mix on the basis of wood, biogas, combined generation of heat and power, hydropower, solar power and eventually wind and geothermal power. At the same time least cost planning will be used to initiate measures in the companies and the other energy consumers to generally save energy, or to work with temperature levels and load profiles which harmonize with the possibilities of energy supply from renewable resources.

Technically, the energy supply for the region will be organized by a new operating company, which does the necessary investment and which supplies energy as a service to the individual companies, private and public buildings. The coordination and controlling within the network of companies, private persons and the public is the task of this operating company. The company will be founded by regional players. Contracting will be used if appropriate. The legal framework, a financial plan, and a corresponding business plan will be worked out within the project. The progress will be documented in a way so that it can be reproduced in other regions which are interested in similar models.

Projectleader

Markus Möller, STENUM GmbH
Geidorfgürtel 21, A-8010 Graz,
Tel.: +43 (316) 367156-20
http://www.stenum.at
E-Mail: j.fresner @stenum.at

Projectpartner

• STENUM GmbH
• Bistum Gurk
• Säge Hirt GmbH
• Brauerei Hirt GmbH
• Energieagentur Judenburg - Knittelfeld - Murau