Space Travel News  
BIO FUEL
Rotting wood turns Austria's poorest town into green model
By Nina LAMPARSKI
Guessing, Austria (AFP) Nov 28, 2015


Broke, remote and deprived of jobs -- just 25 years ago, the border town of Guessing close to Hungary was one of the poorest in Austria, a forgotten frontier along the Iron Curtain trail.

Yet today, the municipality of 4,000 people has morphed into a global flagship model for green energy, after becoming the first community in the European Union to produce all its heat and power from renewable sources back in 2001.

Latest figures show the town is already 80 percent carbon neutral, a clear frontrunner in the bloc's race for reducing C02 emissions.

"The whole world should become Guessing," enthused Austria's most famous green advocate, Arnold Schwarzenegger, during a visit two years ago.

In many ways, it all began with a "pile of rotting wood", said engineer Reinhold Koch, one of the masterminds behind the dramatic transformation.

While Guessing lacked a motorway and train lines, there was one thing it had in abundance: forests and therefore timber leftovers from logging companies.

"A major reason why we were so poor in the early 1990s was because we spent millions on buying foreign fossil fuels, while wood offcuts were decaying on the ground," Koch told AFP in an interview ahead of crunch climate change talks in Paris.

"I realised that the solution was right in front of our eyes. We could produce our own energy and thereby keep the money here."

This, Koch hoped, would also put an end to the mass exodus Guessing was facing at the time.

Some 70 percent of the region's 27,000 inhabitants were forced to commute to the capital Vienna for work as a consequence of having been cut off from industrial development for several decades.

"I wanted to stop Guessing from dying," said Koch, matter-of-factly.

- Digging up the town -

The engineer found a willing ear in Guessing's then-mayor, Peter Vadasz, a conservative politician known for his environmental commitment. Together, the pair set about implementing an ambitious green transition plan.

Firstly, all public buildings were thermally insulated and stopped using fossil fuels -- a move that would halve local government spending on energy.

Austria's EU accession in 1995 enabled Guessing to obtain subsidies and build a wood burning heating plant.

This proved a crucial first step toward reviving the region's stagnant economy, as Guessing was suddenly able to offer companies attractive deals.

"By producing our own energy, we decentralised power and brought it back to our region," said Vadasz. "My first question to potential new businesses was always: 'How many jobs can you create?'"

But the switch also meant adapting existing infrastructure and convincing locals to abandon fossil fuels.

Authorities began digging up the town's streets one by one.

"If 50 percent living on a street wanted to join, we would lay the pipes in the remaining homes too, in case they wanted to join later -- and they eventually did," recalled Vadasz.

"Green energy had a competitive market price and our best publicity was word-of-mouth, neighbours telling other neighbours that they weren't paying more."

- From zero to hero -

The real breakthrough, however, came in 2001 when Guessing launched a pioneering biomass plant with the help of Viennese scientist Hermann Hofbauer.

The expert had created a system able to produce power by turning wood into a clean gas instead of burning it, thereby strongly reducing CO2 emissions.

The innovative technology would not only achieve Guessing's dream of green autarky, but also propelled it to global fame.

"It can produce clean energy in any region in the world, as long as it has natural resources," explained Koch.

Today the giant metal construction, which also serves as a research facility, supplies nearly half of Guessing's heat, with the rest provided by other green sources.

Much of the biomass plant's wood comes from Austria's two largest parquet flooring firms which are among 50 new companies to have settled in Guessing in recent years -- despite there still not being a motorway or train lines.

The success story also had a knock-on effect, with some 20 power plants now producing renewable energy for the entire region.

"Experts call Guessing the mecca of renewable energy and say you have to make the pilgrimage at least once in your lifetime to see for yourself that this kind of thing is possible," said Koch, smiling.

Perhaps most importantly, the project has breathed new life into the town.

Where once lay crumbling homes, cafes and shops are now dotted around the historic centre as well as its 12th-century castle on the scenic banks of the Strembach river.

"We even have an international basketball team," said Koch, himself a former player, proudly pointing at a shelf of trophies in his office.

"People need heroes. The money made that possible."


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Bio Fuel Technology and Application News






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
BIO FUEL
How crop prices and climate variables affect yield and acreage
Urbana IL (SPX) Nov 24, 2015
When corn prices increase farmers reap higher yields by making changes. According to a recent University of Illinois study, about one-third of the yield increase derives from more intensive management practices and two-thirds from cropping additional acreage. Agricultural economist Madhu Khanna says the findings dampen the ongoing debate about the food price and land use changes due to corn etha ... read more


BIO FUEL
NASA Orders SpaceX Crew Mission to International Space Station

NASA Selects New Technologies for Parabolic Flights and Suborbital Launches

United Launch Alliance exits launch competition, leaving SpaceX

Spaceport America opens up two new campuses

BIO FUEL
Study: Mars to become a ringed planet following death of its moon

A witness to a wet early Mars

NASA completes heat shield testing for future Mars exploration vehicles

Curiosity Mars Rover Heads Toward Active Dunes

BIO FUEL
Gaia's sensors scan a lunar transit

SwRI scientists explain why moon rocks contain fewer volatiles than Earth's

All-female Russian crew starts Moon mission test

Russian moon mission would need 4 Angara-A5V launches

BIO FUEL
Tyson weighs in on New Horizons' Pluto discoveries

Composite images compare sunlit faces of Pluto

Astronomers spot most distant object in the solar system

New Horizons Yields Wealth of Discovery from Pluto Flyby

BIO FUEL
Forming planet observed for first time

UA researchers capture first photo of planet in making

Rocket Scientists to Launch Planet-Finding Telescope

5400mph winds discovered hurtling around planet outside solar system

BIO FUEL
NASA awards new contract for rocket engine development

Next Giant Leap, No Small Steps

Crew Dragon Propulsion System Completes Development Testing

BAE and Reaction Engines to develop a new aerospace engine

BIO FUEL
China to launch Dark Matter Satellite in mid-December

China to better integrate satellite applications with Internet

China's satellite expo opens

New rocket readies for liftoff in 2016

BIO FUEL
Secondhand Spacecraft Has Firsthand Asteroid Experience

The colors of Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Rosetta and Philae: one year since landing on a comet

Mercury Gets a Meteoroid Shower from Comet Encke









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.