Motivation and research question

One of the central tasks of a municipality such as Stanz im Mürztal is to increase the future viability and quality of life of the municipality through innovations in different municipal action areas and so also increase its resilience. The main question is how to create a "best practice" of an innovative plus-energy district in a smaller municipality that offers multipliable solutions for communities with similar challenges on a national and international level.

Initial situation / status quo

The municipality of Stanz im Mürztal is located in the Stanzertal, a side valley of the Styrian Mürztal in the Bruck-Mürzzuschlag district. The municipality currently has 1,781 inhabitants (population register as of January 1, 2024) and an area of around 77 km². This makes Stanz im Mürztal one of the largest municipalities in the region in terms of area. The forest cover is far above average at over 80% of the municipal area, while the population density of 23 inhabitants/km2 is well below the Styrian average. The economy is structured on a small scale, which is reflected in a high proportion of commuters. The industrial region of the Mürztal was affected by economic structural change in the last decades of the 20th century. This, among other factors, is one reason for the strong outmigration and aging in the district Bruck-Mürzzuschlag.

The local council of the e5 community of Stanz, together with committed citizens, has succeeded in creating a new village culture that is supported by the population. By involving the relevant interest groups, measures have been taken that make Stanz more livable and at the same time increase local added value through sustainable energy supply and economic management. Both are prerequisites for long-term attractiveness as a living space.

Project contents and objectives

The first main goal was to increase the supply of renewable energy sources, which is currently around 30%, to 100%. This has been implemented on a pilot basis with measures to promote energy efficiency and flexible use of these energy sources as well as the development of multipliable, innovative business models for financing. At the same time, the optimization and expansion of the local energy networks (heat and electricity) in the town centre as well as solutions to increase their resilience are underway.

The second main goal was the revitalization and enlivenment of the town centre. Through new approaches to saving space and compatible densification, building on previous activities, central areas are increasingly used for living and business. The reduction in energy consumption focused on the surveys for the preparation and planning of the renovation of some existing buildings including the house of the musicians as part of the Stanz+ demonstration project.

Methodical procedure

At the beginning a comprehensive investigation of energy production, consumption, load profiles, building usage and demand in the town centre has been carried out. Later, activities within the energy infrastructure and networks began, such as the construction of a new local heating network, wind turbines, planning of PV systems and the revitalization of existing hydropower in order to advance the transition.

At the same time, the use of digitalization such as the expansion of smart meters and resident participation developed new concepts for making energy supply and consumption more flexible, as well as supporting business models. A new building as "house of the musicians" was planned in the town centre with user participation. Over two years, real data from networks and buildings were recorded and evaluated, and social scientific information was collected in the newly founded energy community. These were the basis for new control concepts, optimizations and energy use by citizens. Fundamental is the interweaving of technical solutions with social innovation. Due to the successful activation and participation of the "citizen forces" in shaping their own living environment, the acceptance of the (technical) solutions was easier to implement using a "bottom-up approach" than with the common "expert top-down".

Results and conclusions

A new biomass heating and electricity grid was built in the centre of Stanz and optimized in terms of energy technology. Hydro and wind power in the municipal area as well as the installation of photovoltaics on roof areas to increase the solar share were promoted and implemented.
The new building of the "house of the musicins" was coupled and planned with the renovation of the former RAIKA building in the town centre; the implementation will start soon. New building areas will be provided to save space on a sunny slope, centrally next to the village square, in order to specifically increase density in the centre of the community. A meeting zone has been planned and will soon be implemented.

A 40% reduction in CO2 emissions in existing buildings has so far been achieved; 50% or more can soon be achieved if the Stanzertal Renewable Energy Community intensifies its production and trading. A new business model with the introduction of an e-token system for new products and services was developed in Stanz's "Rural Pioneers Community" in co-creation processes with professional advice.

Outlook

Stanz remains highly active in comparison to other municipality of this size and population, and the change of mayor at the beginning of 2024 has not changed this - the next projects and activities have already been decided. The next research projects are aimed at expanding, networking and supraregionally expanding the energy community, detailed planning for the use of sector coupling and load balancing with integration of wind turbines in the municipality, expansion of the municipality's own infrastructure, introduction of the e-token system for the development of the energy currency "Stanzertaler".

Stanz was one of the plaintiffs against the state of Austria for failing to implement measures against climate change (the centre of Stanz is largely situated in the "red zone" with high flood risk). The lawsuit has now been before the European Court of Justice since December 2023.

Project management

Municipality of Stanz im Mürztal

Project or cooperation partners

• AEE – Institute for Sustainable Technologies
• Nussmüller Architekten ZT GmbH
• scan - agentur für markt- und gesellschaftsanalytik
• UET Handelsges.m.b.H.

Municipality of Stanz im Mürztal
Raimund Lebner
A-8653 Stanz im Mürztal 61
Tel.: +43 (3865) 8202
E-mail: r.lebner@stanz.at
Website: www.stanz.at