13 October 2014
ABOUT EU SUSTAINABILITY ENERGY WEEK
ABOUT THE EU SUSTAINABILITY ENERGY AWARDS 2014
Details
The energy self-sufficiency project of
the Commune of Kisielice in Poland
is designed to increase energy independence,
make best use of local capacity and
reduce CO₂ emissions in a small rural commune.
The commune has set itself
the goal of abandoning dependence on coal
– reducing emissions, improving air quality and
making maximum use of
local agricultural production capacity.
‘Our commune is one of the first places in Poland
where wind farms, biomass boiler plants and biogas plants
were built, making Kisielice commune one of the leaders
in investment diversity in
renewable sources of energy in the country.
Our goal is to achieve energy independence’,
says Marcin Duda, Project Coordinator.
The aim of the project is to
* inform the citizens of the positive effects of
greener energy sources and to
* encourage foreign investors to
fund the construction of wind farms
in uninhabited rural areas.
The funds raised from this initiative are being used to
build communal installations using
Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and
fed by residues from local agriculture.
The Commune of Kisielice has 2300 inhabitants and
covers 17 280 hectares (ha). Most of the land is farmland
and is indicative of a typical agricultural community.
The Commune now has
* two wind farms with 48 wind turbines
and a capacity of 82 megawatt (MW),
which have been complemented by
a modernisation of transport infrastructure and connections.
* A third wind farm with a capacity of 24 MW
is under construction.
A central heating network
has been implemented in Kisielice,
financed with grants and tax revenues.
It is fed by a biomass boiler house, which has
the capacity of 6 MW and supplies 85% of the buildings.
In December 2013, construction of the first biogas power plant
in the municipality was completed. Located near
the existing ecological heating installation, the plant produces
1 MW of heat and
1 MW of electricity and i
s driven by silage corn from the fields.
Kisielice has built a modern heating network fed by
the communal straw-fired boiler house
with a capacity of 6 MW.
Some 250 buildings (85% of the total) are now connected serving
more than 90% of the population.
Its waste heat will supply the village
with hot water during the summer months.
The commune has also modernised their street lighting,
resulting in a significant reduction in electricity consumption.
Given the social resistance to the construction of wind farms
from the ecology movement, the Kisielice commune put
an enormous effort into convincing the community
to take an interest in renewable energy issues.
Farmers, who have wind farms on their land
receive about EUR 5 000 per year
for the lease for each turbine.
Cereal straw is also bought from local farmers,
providing additional income
for local citizens and lowering CO₂ emissions.
Between 2010 and 2012 the municipal authorities
organised meetings with residents
where they promoted micro RES projects such as
heat pumps, solar, small wind turbines, etc.
As a result, the commune founded an association of individuals
interested in participating, together with the municipality,
in projects of this type in the future.
Also this year the municipality will announce a tender
for the purchase and installation of
photovoltaic panels
for the first photovoltaic farm in the region.
In addition, the municipality will install
three sets of photovoltaic panels
with a capacity of 10 kW each for public buildings
WWW.CHEMWINFO.COM BY KHUN PHICHAI
