Renewable sources of energy
Photovoltaic units – harnessing the power of the sun
- Noise protection barrier with an integrated photovoltaic system
One of Vienna’s most environmentally friendly ‘power stations’ is located in the heart of the 1st District. The roof of Vienna’s Natural History Museum has been almost entirely covered with solar energy collectors, transforming the power of the sun into ‘clean’ energy.
This is a classic example of how photovoltaic systems can be seamlessly integrated into an urban environment, while also being one of the most efficient and environmentally sensitive ways of producing energy.
Another unit belonging to Wien Energie has been installed on a gate leading into the Vienna International Center. Similarly, the largest passive house in Austria to date, located in Vienna’s 11th District, supplies itself with electricity from its own solar cells. Moreover, the noise protection barrier alongside the Theodor-Körner-Hof housing complex on Margartengürtel is also fitted with 190 m2 of photovoltaic cells.
In 2009, Vienna’s largest solar energy plant is set to come online. Solar cells covering an area of 311 m2 on the south side of the Simmering 1/2 power station will have an output of around 30.8 kilowatt peak (kWp), equating to an annual output of around 22 megawatts of electricity.
Renewable energy from hydroelectric and wind power stations
Wien Energie’s hydroelectric power stations are mostly situated in Lower Austria, with the exception of the Nussdorf power station on the Danube Canal. The Opponitz an der Ybbs power station, established in 1920, has three turbines and generates a total of 13.5 MW. The Gaming plant is a drinking water power station integrated into the Second Vienna Spring Water, which has three turbines capable of producing 5.6 MW. There is also a smaller hydroelectric plant at the Simmering power station, with an output of 0.7 MW, which is integrated into the cooling water system.
The electricity production figures also include the rights to electrical supplies from the hydroelectric power stations on the Danube at Greifenstein (12.5%), Freudenau (12.5%), in addition to the aforementioned hydroelectric plant on the Danube Canal at Nussdorf (33%). Wien Energie secured these rights by covering a proportion of the construction costs of these facilities. The gross generating power of these hydroelectric power stations amounts to around 80 MW.
Wien Energie began gaining experience in wind power with a single wind turbine as early as 1997, producing clean electricity on the Danube Island. A decade later, the company operates several wind farms together with domestic and international partners. In September 2006, the Steinriegel wind farm was opened on the Rattener Alm, for example, one of the highest wind farms in Europe. It is capable of supplying around 28,000 households with electricity. The gross generating capacity of Steinriegel and other wind farms at Pama-Gols, Zurndorf, Oberlaa Ost and Oberlaa West amounts to 42.5 MW.
The latest project is the Levél wind farm in Hungary, close to the Austrian border. This wind farm consists of twelve wind turbines, with an annual output of 24 MW, producing green energy which is then fed into the Hungarian grid.
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