June 12, 2007

Today we started with a lecture from Gehard Loffler from the Department of Agriculture and Forestry. He presented an overview of Austrian biomass policies specifically in the Austrian state of Salzburg. We looked at the wide variety of biomass plants that are located all over the state of Salzburg. The plant that we went to visit with Mr. Loffler at the end of the day burned the excess bark and sawdust from the local saw mills to produce heat for 400 houses in the local district all connected to the biomass plant through a web of heating pipes that send out 60 degrees Celsius water and have it come back at 40 degrees Celsius. The plant was a maze of closed loops and cogeneration, with the main boiler's excess heat for example being used to produce electrical energy. One really interesting point that was made by Mr. Loffler was that since heavy metals collect in the bark of trees and bark is primarily what this and many other biomass plants burn, the biomass plants actually become a heavy metal sink.
Our second speaker of the day was Franz Kok, CEO of Salzchwind, a company he started in the last several years. He discussed the many issues with wind energy and talked about how Austria in certain areas has embraced wind energy and in other areas has not. We discussed whether or not bigger is better when it comes to the designing of wind mills and how long the average warranty is on a typical wind mill, which is about 20 years. Mr. Kok also discussed how some windmills that are being produced as prototypes no longer can be considered a power generating installment, but instead is more akin to a building that is dealt with on a daily basis. The largest he discussed is a 5.4 megawatt mill that has a rotor span of 100 meters or 328 feet!
Finally we ended the day with a presentation on energy efficient housing with Franz Mair, who works for the state of Salzburg promoting sustainable housing. He promotes sustainable housing through a subsidy point system that rewards home builders with very low interest loans and subsidies that design their house with sustainability in mind. At the end of his presentation we went and visited one of the newest projects in Salzburg that had everything from an underground parking garage to solar panels on the roof for the production of heat inside the building. Along with these, the entire complex made up of more then 30 apartments needs only one central heating system powered by biomass for all of its heating requirements.

Wed. June 13th

We sparked off the day with a PowerPoint lecture from the head of the land-use planning unit in Salzburg, Dr. Christoph Braumann. He spoke to us at length about all the details and processes that surround land use management in and around Salzburg. Land use management is important to sustainable development because the way a community coordinates the infrastructure of their settlement (natural areas, traffic, settlements, businesses, etc.) greatly effects the economic framework and the development of the community that lives there.
The second lecture was given by Hans Wieseneggar, a water management leader here in Salzburg. Hans gave an impressive presentation on water management here in Salzburg while giving us an extensive preview of the sites that we would visit later in the day on his guided field trip. Austria has a lot of water, and they seem to be doing a great job of managing it, thanks to people like Hans.
Our third lecture was given by Willi Mayr. Willi represented the Department of Waste Management in Salzburg. Almost all of Salzburg?s wastewater treatment plants are biologically (naturally) operated. This emphasis on natural solutions was very inspiring to me. Willi also explained how Salzburg and the surrounding cities are utilizing recycling and modern waste management methods to help in the reduction of waste that winds up in their land fills.
We finished today's academic session by loading into a couple of buses and visiting four different sites that illustrated the current water management situation along the Salzach River. 75% of Salzburg's water supply is drained by the Salzach. Hans took us to several spots along the Salzach River to illustrate first-hand the strategies that he and his colleagues use to help safeguard the local communities from floods. He showed us that by using retention walls, natural draining systems, and intelligent design, much damage can be avoided when a river needs to flood. I was most impressed with this in depth look at the complicated and fascinating world of river management.
Currently our group of about 20 is settling down to feast on a bunch of pizza and a homemade salad, and boy am I starving. All that learning makes me a hungry boy.