"Climate finds the city"

Climate-neutral in Rosental together with the citizens

Mayor Ingo Appé, project manager Beate Sternig and Adolf Melcher, Managing Director of Kelag Energie & Wärme, presented the project.(Bild: Kelag)

To make Ferlach climate-neutral by 2040, the town's citizens have also been enlisted to help. There is a lot of potential in the heat supply.

"Without the residents of the town, we won't be able to achieve our climate targets," explains Ferlach Mayor Ingo Appé. "That's why the Kelag pilot project was a very important step in the right direction for us."

Catalog of measures for the town
In a citizens' council, around 30 Ferlach residents worked together with Kelag to develop various energy scenarios. "The focus was placed on expanding renewable energy sources and striving for a climate-friendly environment without fossil fuels such as oil and gas," explains Kelag project manager Beate Sternig. A catalog of measures has now been presented to the town with the aim of making Ferlach climate-neutral by 2040.

District heating already reaches many households (red), more is possible (light red).(Bild: Kelag Energie & Wärme)

District heating from biomass and waste heat
There is a lot of potential for improvement in the heating sector in particular. District heating offers a climate-friendly alternative - in Ferlach, 99 percent of the energy for this comes from industrial waste heat and biomass. "For many homeowners in Ferlach, the conditions are good for phasing out heating oil," explains Adolf Melcher, Kelag Energie & Wärme. Where district heating does not work, heat pumps are an option.

Sustainable light points
An initial measure for the climate is clearly visible in Ferlach. All 1485 light points have been converted to LED lights. "These have not only brought savings of a good 60 percent, but also do not produce any light smog upwards," emphasizes Appé.