Energy Transition in Europe | www.energy-cities.eu

Solidarity City is a media project of Cooperative City Magazine to promote and strengthen social and solidarity economy practices throughout Europe. Taking Vienna as its starting point, the project aims at mapping initiatives that focus on social inclusion, fair employment, participation, sustainable food systems, ethical consumption and responsible tourism, and exploring their achievements and challenges, as well as telling their stories and helping them gain visibility.


This week, authorities in Vienna announced that Wien Energie, the city’s energy company, has set up heat pumps in one of the natural thermal water pools in the Austrian capital. Said pumps will collect heat from wastewater and feed it back to the district heating system, providing green energy for 1,900 households in the Oberlaa district.

Depuis les années 1990, la capitale autrichienne multiplie les projets de développement urbain pour que femmes et hommes puissent profiter équitablement de l’espace public. Une démarche plus inclusive qui, certes, suscite encore des réticences, mais fait des émules au niveau européen.

Renewable energy will be produced on-site and it will power the entire facility
Vienna is opening a new educational campus called Lieselotte Nahsen-Schmidt in Seestadt. Said campus will have a comprehensive renewable electrical and heating system, making it a showcase project for the whole sector of educational architecture in the carbon-neutral future of Europe.

The goal of the city is to house two million bees on Wiener Linien's green spaces by 2022, which means around 80 bee colonies. "Public transport is an ideal place for bees. Along the rails, there are often unused areas where countless flowering plants can settle," said Alexandra Reinagl from Wiener Linien.

In September 2020, the Austrian government published the draft Renewable Energy Expansion Act (Erneuerbaren-Ausbau-Gesetz, REEA), a comprehensive legislation package aimed at reshaping the Austrian legal framework on renewable energy generation, distribution, and consumption. Most recently, in March 2021, the government presented its final version of the REEA, which is now subject to deliberation and approval by the Austrian parliament, and which it aims to enter into force as soon as by the end of the first half of 2021.
As outlined in our recent feature article, one of the main pillars supporting Austria’s attempt to achieve its share of the European climate targets will be to implement what are known as energy communities. In a nutshell, energy communities, as an important component of the planned energy transition in Austria, are non-profit-orientated legal entities intended to decentralize the generation, distribution, and consumption of renewable energy mainly for the public benefit.

By repairing their items instead of throwing them away, citizens of Vienna are actively contributing to the fight against climate change
Repairing and reusing one’s items is crucial in the fight against climate change. Instead of throwing stuff away and generating more and more waste, citizens of Vienna have had an opportunity to have them once again made usable thanks to the city’s repair vouchers and receipts.
A massive success, both saving money and protecting the environment
The Vienna repair voucher is a one-of-a-kind platform that brings together consumers, vendors and repair shops. The network created by the city allows for citizens who purchase from specific venues to have their items repaired at one of the Austrian capital’s many repair shops at a significantly reduced price by simply downloading the repair voucher on their phones.
"Repairing instead of throwing it away, that is an active contribution to climate protection and I am pleased that the Viennese are taking our offer so well," said Environment City Councilor Ulli Sima

From next year on, the vast majority of all new buildings in Vienna will be located in climate protection areas. In these areas, heating, cooling, and hot water must be provided either by renewable energy such as ambient heat (heat pumps) or biomass or by district heating. The requirement does not differentiate between building types: residential buildings, offices, shops, but also public buildings such as schools or kindergartens. In the long term, fossil fuel will be a thing of the past.

Austria officially closed its last coal-fired power plant on Friday (17 April), becoming the second EU country to exit coal after Belgium in 2016.

The definitive closure of Verbund’s Mellach coal-fired district heating plant was announced last year after relentless campaigning by climate activists Global 2000.

The plant stopped operating on Friday after the end of the heating season.

The closure is “a historic step”, said Leonore Gewessler, Austria’s minister for climate action, environment, energy and mobility. “By 2030, we will convert to 100% green electricity,” she added.

The EU as a whole is aiming for 82 per cent clean power by the end of the decade but some member states are looking to go one step further.

Wien Gusto’, as the brand is called, will source its produce from the nearly 2,000 hectares of farm land owned by the city
Yesterday, the city of Vienna announced that it will launch its own line of organic produce, which will be sold on the retail markets. The city owns around 2,000 hectares of arable land and vineyards, making it one of the largest organic farms in Austria.

Viennese authorities have said that they will invest over 1 billion euros in sustainable energy in the next five years. The funds will go towards renewable projects with an increased focus on hydrogen and especially geothermal energy.

Vienna received the European City of Trees award (ECOT) from the European Arboricultural Council, acknowledging the Austrian capital as a model for care in the domain of urban greenery. The Arboricultural Council also pointed to the city’s innovative knowledge-based approach for the improved adaptability of the urban environment in the face of climate change. They also held up Vienna as an outstanding example of good practices that other European cities can emulate.

The time has come: 90 sheep have arrived in the Schafflerhofstrasse PV plant in Vienna - Donaustadt, the largest such in Austria. The area of more than 12 hectares is perfectly suited for grazing and in a bid to maximise the green efforts of the city, they decided to get eco-friendly lawnmowers. “They go together wonderfully,” said Climate Protection City Councilor Jürgen Czernohorszky.

Women are more likely to live in energy poverty, something that needs to be reflected in EU policy as it rolls out its renovation wave, writes Michaela Kauer.

Michaela Kauer is the director of the Brussels office of the City of Vienna, linking Vienna with EU policy and global sustainability goals.

Currently, the European Union is undertaking significant efforts to improve the energy efficiency of the built environment, with a huge renovation wave strategy brought forward. The aspiration is to make this initiative in the framework of the EU’s Green Deal a participatory and inclusive one.

However, the Commission still fails to clarify whether this approach will be gender-sensitive in vision and process, not the least in delivery. The first issue at stake is to increase the visibility of gender inequalities in energy poverty and participatory actions.

This will allow informing policymakers at the EU level to better account for gender justice in the field of housing and urban renewal.

Women are more likely to live in energy poverty, something that needs to be reflected in EU policy as it rolls out its renovation wave, writes Michaela Kauer.

Austria’s coalition government has confirmed it will block the landmark EU-Mercosur trade agreement - which should create the biggest free-trade area in the world - saying it goes against the EU's environmental ambitions set out in the European Green Deal.

Red Vienna undertook one of the most ambitious public housing programmes ever. That effort is still credited with maintaining affordability today.

n the Austrian city of Linz, authorities are already planning for the problems that summer 2021 will bring – namely the high temperatures that adversely impact the health of locals. The problems, according to authorities are especially pronounced in urban centres. Officials aim to address the problem by promoting the creation of additional greenery on buildings, which would stabilize the temperature swings across the urban area.

After several years of consultations with locals, Vienna’s Praterstraße will begin its transformation into the city’s climate boulevard. The shopping street located Leopoldstadt will soon boast a third row of trees in the middle, wide footpaths and bike paths with improved crossings and shady areas.

By the autumn of 2020, a total of 4,000 square metres between Spittelau Station and Wien Energie Welt will undergo greening, while special photovoltaic modules will also be installed in order to save on energy and provide even more cooling.
Construction is scheduled to begin sometime in June and will be complemented by other changes to the local public transport network that are meant to promote the use of buses and cycling.