New boiler installed

New boiler generates 50 million kWh of green heat

The 75-ton boiler is lifted into the plant.

(Bild: Felix Justich)

After one and a half years of construction, the new boiler has been installed at the St. Agathen biomass heating plant in Villach. From December, it will supply thousands of households with green heat.

"We have now invested a total of 32 million euros in the expansion here, with the new boiler system costing 11.5 million euros. That's also the heart of it," explains "Kelag Energie & Wärme" Managing Director Adolf Melcher, who has been with the company since 1986 and helped build it up, during the installation of the 75-ton boiler. "Carinthia has always relied on sustainable district heating. We now have 15 combined heat and power plants in the state."

The 75-tonne boiler was lifted into the combined heat and power plant using a 650-tonne crane (there are only two of this size in Austria).

(Bild: Felix Justich)

The "Kelag Energie & Wärme" team in front of the boiler.

(Bild: Felix Justich)

The Kelag subsidiary is actually the number 2 district heating provider in Austria, only Wien Energie is larger. An investment like this also means long-term planning. "It will probably only pay off in 30 years, we are constantly expanding. We lay six kilometers of new pipes every year," says Melcher. "The systems last a good 40 years."

District heating network continues to grow
From December, the new boiler will burn 20 bulk cubic meters of wood chips per hour, producing 50 million kilowatt hours of heat - as much as 30 million liters of heating oil. This will increase the total output of the combined heat and power plant to 300 million kilowatt hours. "Villach is growing by around 1,000 inhabitants every year, which is why the expansion is necessary," emphasizes the new KEW Managing Director Christoph Herzeg. "By 2040, the district heating network will grow to the periphery, in some cases as far as Lake Ossiach."

Data on the boiler

• 75 tons weight
• 4.2 by 42 meters surface area, 12 meters height
• 30 cubic meters of heated water
• 20 bulk cubic meters of wood chips per hour
• 50 million kilowatt hours of heat per year
• 1.5 million euros for the boiler system

It took one and a half years to build the new boiler system. "The approvals were relatively easy, as the project also has the backing of the local population and politicians," explains project manager Wolfgang Gutjahr. "The heart of the plant, the boiler, was produced in Carinthia. In future, 30 cubic meters of water will be heated with biomass." But this is by no means the end of the story. "Villach will probably need another combined heat and power plant by 2030," Adolf Melcher ventures a look into the future.