Lustenau earns four e ratings after 20 years in climate programme

Lustenau has again received four of the five possible e ratings for its climate and energy work, 20 years after joining Vorarlberg’s e5 programme. The municipality’s new Campus Rotkreuz and a public-funded solar plant on the Reichshofstadion helped it score points, ORF reports.

The Campus Rotkreuz, an education and care centre with a kindergarten, primary school, special education centre and gym, opened in autumn. Its energy-saving features include building insulation and LED lighting. The municipality says the new lighting cuts energy use by about 25 to 27 per cent.

The campus kitchen prepares about 600 meals a day for children, a senior citizens’ home and the meals-on-wheels service. It uses regional food, while electricity comes from solar panels on the roof.

The campus is heated by district heating from a biomass plant on the edge of Lustenau. The municipality says 12 kilometres of pipes supply heat to as many as 200 buildings and save 3,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. Lustenau has about 100 municipal properties, and officials say upgrading older buildings remains a major challenge.

The municipality also scored points for a photovoltaic system on the Reichshofstadion, a stadium. With a capacity of about 200 kilowatt-peak, it can supply electricity to around 70 households. Residents financed the plant by buying 151 “Sonnenscheine”.

The e5 programme has operated in Vorarlberg since 1998 and Lustenau has taken part since 2006. It assesses municipalities in areas including spatial and transport planning, and energy use in public buildings. Ratings range from one to five e marks; municipalities with at least three receive the European Energy Award, while five brings the award in gold.

There are 48 e5 municipalities in Vorarlberg, where almost 80 per cent of residents live. Lustenau will be assessed again in four years and hopes to earn the fifth e.