Last year a green milestone was established at Silvretta Park in St. Gallenkirch: Vorarlberg’s largest e-charging station was installed in an underground car park. 50 charging points are installed, which are still unique to the ski area.
Charging process should be with green energy
“Of course, the cycle has to fit,” explains Peter Marco, managing director of Silveretta-Montafon. It shouldn’t be that guests just come with electric cars and charge them at the charging station, but think ahead as this charging process should be with green electricity – with renewable energy. “This is what will accompany us in the years to come and what is our future,” emphasizes Marko.
Silvretta-Montafon: the hope of wind power
Lower Austria has over 700 wind turbines, the three western federal states do not have one. But that may soon change, it seems, given the political will. That’s what the Silveretta-Montafon group hopes to do, as renewable energy is a big topic there and wind power is no longer a taboo.
generate electricity where it is needed
Therefore a working group is working intensively on the question of renewable energy from 2020. Marco says it’s all about generating electricity where it’s needed. “We’re dealing with hydropower and of course photovoltaics,” Marko explains. But even wind power should not be a taboo, he confirms.
The focus is on the expansion of photovoltaic systems
35 The focus is currently on the expansion of photovoltaic systems on the Silveretta–Montafon mountain railway. Preliminary findings from the mountain station of Valliserbahn provide: “The yield at high altitude is as we promised. That’s pretty good,” said Kilian Zienecker of Silveretta-Montafon’s project management team.
Several factors will contribute to this – including clear air and the reflection of snow. “The winter months with lots of sun were really the most profitable,” he insists. Since the photovoltaic system is integrated into the façade, there were no problems with snow load or potential snow cover, Zineker says.
Technical requirements for wind turbines are given
To be able to meet the company’s energy needs, people are now also thinking about wind turbines, Zineker says. “We still have a long way to go,” he admits. “We still have to analyze and define suitability areas,” he explains. You have to ask yourself what yields are possible, where and what the whole project might look like.
In any case, the technical requirements are met. Most of the places on the mountain are developed: “We have access roads, we have our own medium-voltage network,” he argues. The task now is to develop a project that will clarify whether the return justifies the investment. In addition, the terms of the framework should be clarified.
Helpful Hints From Politicians
The terms structure primarily refers to all the processes that are required to install wind turbines. “There are signs of support from my side,” confirmed Daniel Zadra (Greens), the state councilor responsible for environmental protection and energy. “There is good will on both sides to look at specific projects and make processes quicker,” he says confidently.
But he stressed: “There are certainly places where nature conservation reasons don’t make sense”. In Silvretta-Montafon, hope is derived from: “We are now feeling the political tailwind that things – we hope – will become possible that probably wouldn’t have been possible two or three years ago,” describes Marco.
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