Climate - Energy - Model Region

95 climate and energy model regions (KEM) in 819 municipalities in Austria implement climate protection projects - the Almenland Nature Park is one of them! 

The Austrian climate and energy model regions have the following goal: clean energy production from wind, water and bioenergy from the region. The model region managers and partners from the regions jointly implement projects in the following areas:

• Renewable energy
• Reduction of energy consumption
• Sustainable building
• Mobility
• Agriculture
• Awareness raising

"Climate and Energy Model Regions" is a programme of the Climate and Energy Fund. The programme co-finances regional climate protection projects and regional model region management. Being a climate and energy model region offers access to a broad network as well as exclusive training, support and funding.

Climate and energy model region managers receive new advisory tool

In the lead project "Quick BIO-NET", a quick check tool for the initial analysis of local heating networks was created. This tool enables simple benchmarking and determination of the status quo of local or district heating networks. By entering a few parameters of the heating plant, the various possibilities are analysed as to how new renewable energy technologies - e.g. solar thermal, photovoltaic, buffer storage, combined heat and power or even waste heat - from industry and commerce can be integrated. The results of the tool form the basis for decisions on the further development and optimisation of the heating plant. In the project, case studies from the participating climate and energy model regions were calculated and in some cases already documented in implementation.

With the quick check tool, the climate and energy model region managers receive a tool that provides initial answers to questions such as the economic efficiency of the overall system, winter and/or summer operation with solar integration, buffer storage, PV, CHP, etc. or grid expansion. This forms the basis for a fundamental decision and further detailed planning!

The project team - consisting of AEE INTEC, the Innovation Centre Weiz, the KEM Energiekultur Kulmland, the KEM Holzwelt Murau and the KEM Naturpark Almenland - was funded by the Climate and Energy Fund.

Proper heating with biomass boilers needs to be learned, because clean combustion is essential for high efficiency and minimising exhaust gases. In the last decades, a lot of research and development work has been invested in the combustion technology of biomass heating systems, but the behaviour of the users also holds great potential.

This was demonstrated by the "CleanAir by biomass" project (Clean Air = Reine Luft), which was carried out by the province of Styria from 2016 to 2019. In the follow-up project CleanAir II, the aim is now to go one step further and sustainably strengthen the awareness of the population with regard to clean air through the use of domestic biomass. The project tries to achieve this goal by means of mobile infrastructure, awareness raising, citizen science and the involvement of local and regional stakeholders as well as educational institutions.

As part of the CleanAir II project, the smartphone application "FireMonitor" was developed. This allows research to be brought into people's living rooms. The FireMonitor app is used to document the heating behaviour of users.  At the end of the project, participants receive feedback based on their recordings on how they can optimise their heating behaviour to produce fewer emissions.

The app is still in the test phase and therefore relies on a particularly large number of app testers. Do you have a log boiler in your boiler room, a tiled or Swedish cooker or a table cooker and would like to test the app? Then contact Martin Auer (KEM Manger Naturpark Almenland) and download the app under the following links (Android and iOS, attention not available in the Store!). The three most intensive app testers will be rewarded with € 150.00 vouchers! If you have any questions, please contact Martin Auer.

App for Android

App for iOS

The "climate school children" of the 6 primary schools Arzberg bei Passail, Breitenau/H., Fladnitz/T., Gasen, Neudorf b.P. and Passail drew their personal, environmentally friendly future. Many of these drawings can now be found on the e-car of the KEM region Climate-friendly Nature Park Almenland. This is intended to transport the children's messages to the Almenland Nature Park region and further afield. Many thanks to the children for this great work!