Güssing Policy Learning

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2 Güssing Policy Learning Background of Renewable Energy in Güssing The European Centre for Renewable Energy is located in Güssing which is a small town, with around 30,000 inhabitants in Burgenland, Austria. The town suffered from poor transportation, bad infrastructure, and negative population growth. There was a lack of industrial production, a scarcity of jobs and a high rate of migration. There was also high dependence on fossil fuels. In 1990s, a policy was proposed for a complete abandonment of fossil fuel energy. The objective was to supply, in a first step, the town of Güssing, and subsequently the whole district, with regionally available renewable energy, so that the region could benefit from its natural resource. The mayor at that time, Peter Vadasz, was the political decision maker and initiator of the development. Electrical engineer, Reinhard Koch was the technical planner and implementer of the idea. They organised the logistics of wood transportation and the Forest Association of Burgenland was founded. Forest land owners began to cultivate their forest land and guaranteed a sustainable and resource preserving forestry use. In 1992, the first of several small (district) heating plants were built, in the villages near to Güssing. Individual persons and farmers started initiatives. The credibility of the technology improved and increased commercial activities started to bring back the population. In 1996, the construction work of a biomass district heating plant began in Güssing, itself. More than half of the private households, all of the public buildings and a large number of the businesses are now connected to the district heating grid. Güssing became attractive to business and industries because of its low heating costs and a stable heating price. Burgenland was entitled to funds within the framework of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), as a result of its poor economic situation. Nowadays, Güssing has an energy turnover of approximately 14 Million p.a. Key factors for success Burgenland is seeking long-term self-sufficiency based on renewable energy. There are many factors that may account for its success, but the following are the most salient ones.

3 EU financial support (European Regional Development Funding) In Burgenland, the EU funding is used effectively in the renewable energy sector and in a highly interactive and innovative environment. In mid 1990s, Objective 1 support from the ERDF plugged the gap in the funding of prototypes for remote heating from biomass at local level. ERDF contributes significant financial support to the local area. The funding also creates the multiplier effect, in the Burgenland energy sector, despite a relatively low volume of funding. The European Centre for Renewable Energy The European Centre for Renewable Energy (German abbreviation EEE) which was founded in1996, serves as a central coordinator to coordinate and implement all projects related to renewable energy. The EEE Ltd. become an institution that is internationally recognised for the development of sustainable regional and local concepts, for energy saving and the use and production of renewable energy. As a reliable partner in various networks including regional, national, and international partners, the EEE has gained an excellent reputation. The EEE is involved in the administration of demonstration plants, research and development, training, services and tourism. Sustainable supply of nature resources In Burgenland, the total forest area is 133,000 ha which means a forest percentage of 30%. It consists of 57% of small forest land(defined as less than 200ha) and 43% of community forest, or big private forest land. Due to the topography and agricultural production, conditions are highly favourable for the production of energy and bio-materials from renewable sources. Around 40-50% of the annual wood production is being used, of which 60% is used as energy wood, 20% as industrial wood and 20% as saw log. Large amounts of unused natural resources are available, due to the lack of thinning in the past. Therefore, organisations were established to take over the thinning, for many forest owners and to deliver the wood to the biomass power plant. In terms of the biomass power plants, most of the small biomass heating plants are cooperatives of farmers that basically supply themselves with wood from the near surroundings; members of the cooperative deliver wood from their own forest land to the district heating plant.

4 The current degree of self-sufficiency heat and electricity is 71%, for private households, public buildings and industries. Support for education and training Training initiatives by academic bodies and small business, for example, the Burgenland College of Higher Education in Pinkafeld offer training courses and environmental technology courses which provides the accelerated investment process with a continuous supply of human resources. The Pinkafeld Technology Centre is beside the College of Higher Education in Pinkafeld. Its high-tech test laboratory is built with ERDF funds, that focused research in the energy field and promotes active cooperation between business and science. Active technician training like SOLARTEUR training course is also encouraged. The goal of the training is to connect the principles of electrical and heating technology with new applications in heat and electricity generation, which also means a Solarteur training technician provides a one stop shop service. The guarantee of higher and technical education, creates a sizeable potential for technical and innovative specialised knowledge creation Strategy Burgenland provides 60% of Austria s national energy needs using renewable sources. It could not have been achieved without continuous, strong, political commitment based on high environmental awareness among the population. The projected accession of Austria to the EU, with it the prospect of European regional funding to Burgenland, created significant opportunities. Future-oriented, academic education linked the expansion of renewable energies to technical advances, which in turn boosted research activities, through practical applications, by setting up colleges of higher education. Technology development The biomass power plant was built in Güssing in Due to technology advances, biomass products increased in number. Special wood gasification technology was developed to produce the heat and energy and also synthetic nature gas (BioSNG) and synthetic liquid fuels. More than 30 plants use various technologies, associated with the gasification plant, around Güssing.

5 Social and economic development The local people are proud of what has been achieved in Güssing. Over 1,000 new jobs were created through the development of the town and over 50 new business moved in to Güssing. Between 1996 and 2009, the CO 2 emissions reduced from 37,000 tons to 22,500 tonnes. The partnership between local, regional, national and European institutions creates signification economic opportunities. Tourism The eco-energy-tourism was established to meet the increasing number of visitors who were interested in the demonstration plants. Güssing welcomes more than 15,000 people each year. Green energy tourism has become an additional economic sector for the region. Promotion of training and research and the expansion of eco-energy tourism, is the outcome of a holistic approach which promotes complementary activities. Local Awareness One of the success stories has been assessing the energy needs of the individual households and implementing energy saving measures in the region. It was challenging to convince the local population of the idea of energy generation from renewable sources. However the local people realised that they could benefit from cheap, clean and locally sourced energy. The big step forward took place when a biomass district heating system was installed in Güssing in In 2001, energy self-sufficiency was achieved when the biomass plant was installed by using newly developed gasification technology. Relevance of Güssing trip to BioPAD Güssing was selected as an appropriate place to visit, for BioPAD policy learning, for the following reasons: It is an exemplary success story of bioenergy development. The project has evolved over a long period time, and the factors which have made it successful are clearly identifiable.

6 For those involved in Bioenergy Policy formulation and delivery, it is inspirational, showing the tremendous benefits that can accrue, if the policy framework is favourable. The success factors which have been identified above, are dependent upon both natural resources, and careful policy development. How to apply the policy learnings to BioPAD Work Package 2 is focussed on bioenergy policy, review, learning and best practice dissemination. Güssing is probably the best example of bioenergy success in Europe, resulting from appropriate policy development. The key policy success factors can be summarised: Aligning the strategic vision of the project with the strategic objectives of the EU, thereby maximising the financial support available. Establishing the European Centre for Sustainable Energy provided a mechanism to focus attention on Güssing and to raise the profile of the scheme. Utilise and build on, what natural resources are present in the region. In this case wood in Burgenland. Integrate the education and training needs of the region with the output from the project. Recognise the value of the spin-off that can be achieved from developing complementary products and services. Sound and continuous political support for the project was instrumental in securing funding and support for the project. Using the success of the project to develop a related tourist industry. Valuing and demonstrating the value to the area, in terms of job and wealth creation. Ensuring that the needs of the local community are met and are aligned with the objectives of the project. While some of the success factors are specific to Güssings circumstances, most of them are generic and can be considered in other situations. These key success factors will now be disseminated to the Policy Stakeholders, within BioPAD as a starting point for discussion. A

7 brief overview of Güssing, and the policy initiatives which have supported its development, was presented at the Policy Workshop in November 2013 in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.

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