Modernisation of Spittelau waste treatment plant

More efficiency in heat generation, independence of fossil fuels, modern air-filtration systems for better air quality and more environmental friendliness are the goals of the modernisation of the Spittelau waste treatment plant.

The City of Vienna invests EUR 130 million in the refurbishment of the Spittelau waste treatment plant. "After 40 years of operations, key system components of the Spittelau plant have to be replaced. The renovation, renewal and optimisation of the facility will make it possible to treat waste more ecologically and to use the energy resources contained in the garbage more efficiently", stated Gerhard Fida, managing director of the district heating utility Wien Energie Fernwärme. Based on the same quantity of waste, five million cubic metres of natural gas per year will be saved, while electricity production will triple to about 13 megawatts. Executive city councillor for the environment Ulli Sima highlighted that Vienna's district heating system makes a vital contribution to climate protection and air quality: "The share of district heating in the total heating supply will increase from currently 36 per cent to 50 per cent by 2020".

Full operations maintained during renovation

After treating annually about 250,000 tons of garbage, some components of the plant have completed their useful life cycle. The two waste-fired boiler plants, the filters and turbines will be replaced and a new steam system will be installed by 2015. Apart from a few months, at least one of the two incineration lines will maintain full operations. During the temporary shutdown of the facility between September 2013 and February 2014, the respective waste volume will be handled by other incineration plants. By then the Waste Logistics Centre in Simmering will also be completed and serve as an interim waste storage facility.

District heating promotes climate protection

With a total installed capacity of 400 megawatts and an output of 40 gigawatt-hours of electricity and 500 gigawatt-hours of heat, the Spittelau waste incineration plant is the second largest facility in Austria’s district heating network after Simmering Block 1. It supplies more than 318,000 homes and 6,200 business customers with heat and hot water. Today the subsidiary of Wien Energie ranks among Europe's largest district heating utilities thanks to a pipeline network of 1,153 kilometres.

From a heavy polluter to the "Hundertwasser masterpiece"

The plant built near the Danube Canal in Vienna's ninth district in 1971 had for a long time been referred to in common parlance as a "heavy polluter". To supply the New General Hospital (Europe's largest hospital) with energy, the waste treatment facility was built in this central location, which is only about two kilometres from the hospital. After a large fire in 1987, then mayor Zilk advocated the reconstruction and technological modernisation of the plant. We owe it to his perseverance that Friedensreich Hundertwasser turned the sober purpose-built facility into a unique piece of art. The Austrian artist and nature lover agreed to create the design of the façade and the chimney only after the City of Vienna pledged to equip the district heating plant with state-of-the-art emissions treatment technology. The successful and exemplary synthesis of technology, ecology and art even became a tourist attraction and a highlight of the visiting programme of international delegations. Fida promised a cautious approach to the façade during the renovation: "We consider it very important to preserve the original appearance of Hundertwasser's masterpiece".

Source: wieninternational.at