Fürstenfeld implements municipal energy transition

The small town of Fürstenfeld, now hosts Austria’s largest pellet wood gasifier plant. Together with a biomass heating plant and 15 hectares of open-air photovoltaic systems, the plant ensures the municipality can switch from gas and oil to a sustainable and renewable electricity and heat supply.

The Municipality of Fürstenfeld had a clear goal: decarbonization by 2030. To do so, in 2022 the administration launched a comprehensive investment program, with the aim of executing a municipal energy transition in the shortest possible time.

With Bioenergy away from oil and gas

Today, the wood gas plant supplies 5,000 households with electricity, and 1,500 households and the Fürstenfeld state hospital with heat. Together with the existing biomass district heating plant and the biogas plant, the new plant covers around 75% of the household electricity consumption and almost 100% of the heat demand of the 10,000 residents.

The plant is virtually emission-free thanks to its state-of-the-art filters and catalysts. Moreover, a 130 kWp photovoltaic system on the facade and roof ensures optimal self-supply of electricity for the wood gasification plant. Through a heat supply contract, the heat produced by the wood gasification plant is fed into the district heating network of “Biofernwärme Fürstenfeld”, the municipal heat supplier. The electricity generated by the wood gasification plant is “parked” directly on-site in Austria’s largest battery storage facility (12 MW capacity). This helps stabilizing the grid and balancing peak demand.

Regional added value instead of loss on purchasing power

The use of pellets generates up to €3.2 million in regional added value annually and saves approximately €4 million on fossil fuels. The savings potential compared to natural gas also means independence from the unstable global market and ensures maximum energy security.