Biomass heating plant: Regional renewable energy for the Frastanz municipality
The project represents a novel solution to providing heating to the community and industry by using renewable energy sources, resulting in tens of thousands of liters less heating oil burned in comparison to prior practice. In 2009, the biomass heating plant was built as the part of the project, implementing technical solutions which allows the use of wood chips from local forests as an energy source, instead of oil imported from the Far East.
The structure of the biomass heating plant which provides RES-oriented heating is as follows:
- Fuels: 55% forest chips, 45% industrial and sawmill by-products from the region;
- Biomass boiler power: 1 stage 1,1 MW , final stage 1,6 MW;
- Pipeline network: approx. 2.2 km, or 120 objects;
- Operation mode: Summer and winter operation, 365 days a year.
Resources needed
The project was funded by the national "e5-program" under the umbrella of supporting the development of energy-efficient communities through the use of renewable energy sources. Total amount of 3 mil EUR were needed for the project implementation.
Evidence of success
With an output of 1.6 megawatts, the biomass plant supplies approximately 160 objects in the immediate vicinity. Via a district heating network that is now more than ten kilometers long and has been laid under the streets in the center of Frastanz, more than 50 buildings are supplied with heat for heating and hot water. Around four gigawatt hours of heat are released per year- if this amount of energy were to be provided using heating oil, around 500,000 liters of oil would have to be burned.
Potential for learning or transfer
The initiative enables municipality setting to manage heating from environmentally friendly biomass, while at the same time reducing heating costs. Wood chips and industrial and sawmill by-products from the region are used for 90 percent of the heating, representing an exemplar practice in switching to renewable heat energy - for residential heating, derived heat, and industrial processes. District heating networks are essential to smart sector integration as they increase energy efficiency and enable to increase the share of renewables at local level, representing the potential for the decarbonisation of the industry. The project represents and efficient way of managing fossil fuels subsidies issues standing on the way to public authorities in efficient RES policy implementation politics.
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