International final conference of the recharge.green project
20-21 May 2015, Sonthofen/Germany
The Alps have great potential for the use of renewable energy, but energy production and use also increases pressures on nature. The recharge.green project looks at the trade-offs between the costs and benefits of renewable energy use. In particular, the project looks at impacts of energy production on ecosystem services. The goal is to achieve sustainably used landscapes where ecosystems and their services to people continue to function, and where energy production is optimised for this purpose.
What are the challenges related to renewable energy use in the Alps? What tools can be used to support decision makers in finding the right balance when planning local or regional energy development? These two questions were at the centre of the final conference of the project. The recharge.green partners have assessed the Alpine potential for biomass, hydropower, solar, and wind energy production, taking into account technical, environmental and social constraints. They presented the tools they have developed to support decision making processes. Representatives from the pilot areas provided glimpses into their experiences with conflict resolution processes that manage to deal with diverging demands on landscape and nature.
We invited decision makers, representatives of public administrations and authorities, of energy businesses and of NGOs to see how the recharge.green results can make a difference and to discuss with us how renewable energy production and nature conservation in the Alps can be combined. A public evening event, a poster exhibit and an excursion completed the programme.
Programme & Downloads
- Download conference programme
- Media release
Wednesday, 20.05.2015 |
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| 13:00 | Welcome coffee and snack, registration |
| 13:30 | Nature and energy: challenges of an Alpine town Christian Wilhelm, Mayor of Sonthofen |
| 13:45 | The multiple facets of nature´s services to people Chris Walzer, Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna |
| 14:00 | Two sides of the same coin: the energy transition and its challenges for energy production and nature conservation Frank Pöhler, Director Hydropower at the Bavarian Electric Power company BEW and Georg Bayerle, mountain and environment specialist at the Bavarian Broadcasting |
| 15:30 | Optimising renewable energy production for continued ecosystem health: main outcomes of recharge.green Introduction: Energy, biodiversity, trade-offs – making balanced decisions. Chris Walzer Experts’ opinions: a trade-off analysis between renewable energy development and ecosystem services. Alessandro Paletto, Consiglio per la Ricerca e la sperimentazione in Agricoltura Valuing and mapping ecosystem services for renewable energy planning. Gianluca Grilli, EURAC Optimizing Renewable Energy Systems in the Alpine Space – balancing production and protection. Florian Kraxner, IIASA Reconciling renewable energy with nature: some lessons learned in pilot areas. Aleš Poljanec Sustainable energy development of the Alpine region: recharge.green for Strategic Environmental Assessment. Daniele Vettorato, EURAC |
| 16:45 | Listen, read, discuss: recharge.green poster exhibit and aperitif The aperitif is offered by the town of Sonthofen.Posters:Overview of the recharge.green project activities in the TNP pilot area Recharge.green Summer School Youth Parliament to the Alpine Convention – general information Youth Parliament to the Alpine Convention 2015 on Ecosystem Services Renewable energy sources and soil function impacts Social Acceptance of renewable energy in Leiblachtal, Vorarlberg Sample Hectare – method and tool Evaluation of renewable energy potential in Pilot Areas: a Decision Support System Test for energy planning in two valleys in Belluno Province Citizens’ perceptions about renewable energies in Gesso and Vermenagna valleys Ecologically sustainable operation of hydropower plants Applying r.green.biomassfor to Pilot Regions Energy Modelling on the Alpine Bow |
| 20:00-21:30 | Podium discussion: Renewable energy and nature protection in the Oberallgäu – a contradiction? Public event, no registration needed. Kareem Banimoosa, Youth Parliament on the Alpine Convention / Sonthofen secondary school; Eike Christiansen, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Construction and Nuclear Safety, Climate protection and energy efficiency Division; Tomas Frey, nature protection association BUND Naturschutz in Bayern; Frank Pöhler, Bavarian Electric Power company; Andreas Scharli, civic foundation Energiewende Oberland; Chris Walzer, Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Lead partner of the recharge.green project; Gilles Chomat, Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention |
Thursday, 21.05.2015 |
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| 08:45 | Introduction to the day |
| 09:00 | The balancing act between energy and nature can succeed in the Alps Astrid Björnsen Gurung, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL |
| 09:45 | Hands-on: how models can help decision makers. Demonstration of the decision support systems developed by recharge.green. Giulia Garegnani, European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano; Sylvain Leduc, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis; Pietro Zambelli, EURAC; Marco Ciolli, University of Trento (In two groups) Introduction Renewable energy modelling on the Alpine space The decision support system in the pilot areas |
| 11:15 | A journey through Europe’s mountain areas: case studies from the Alps and other European mountain areas Lessons learnt and recommendations from experiences with stakeholder involvement processes in the pilot area Bavaria. Gerhard Haimerl, BEW, Stefan Witty, CIPRA Germany Involvement of stakeholders and local communities in two Alpine valleys in the Province of Belluno. Francesca Miotello, Veneto Region Modelling energy demand and optimizing local energy systems in mountain regions: Insights from mountainous Greece. Dimitris Kaliampakos, National Technical University of Athens Instrument „Sample hectare“ and its implementation in Vorarlberg. Markus Berchtold, Regionalentwicklung Vorarlberg Modeling woody biomass for energy use in Triglav National Park. Rok Pisek, Slovenia Forest Service |
| 12:15 | Beyond recharge.green: open questions (podium discussion with the project observers) Stefano Basso, Eawag; Matteo Cesca, Veneto Regional Agency for Prevention and Environmental Protection; Ingrid Fischer, Town of Sonthofen/Alpine Town of the Year Association; Bettina Hedden-Dunkhorst, Ecological Network Platform of the Alpine Convention; |
| 12:55 | Looking ahead: ideas for new initiatives aimed at balancing energy development and nature conservation in the Alpine Space Eva Stare, Alpine Space Programme |
| 13:10 | Closing words Chris Walzer |
| 14:00 | Local solutions for energy transition challenges: field trips |
| 1. Hydropower: Ecological optimisation of a hydropower plant at the river Iller. Visit of the recharge.green pilot activity at Altusried (Transfer by bus) The operation of hydropower plants has an impact on nature and causes changes in aquatic ecology in river sections. Therefore BEW pays special attention to preserving the habitats of plants and animals when modernizing and operating power plants. In the context of the recharge.green project BEW has developed and tested measures in the pilot area Upper Iller, which to both prevent and minimize the impact of hydropower plants on nature and to improve ecological potentials. http://www.recharge-green.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/131031_RGPoster_ObereIller_final_web.pdf  (c) BEW |
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| 2.It’s all in the mix: energy village Wildpoldsried (Transfer by bus) Wildpoldsried has received several awards for its successful use of a broad spectrum of renewable energy sources. The village produces five times more electricity from renewable sources than it consumes – thanks to the use of biogas, wood pellets, wind, and hydropower as well as energy efficiency and awareness raising measures . This field trip will also explain how the population gets involved and how nature conservation aspects are considered. http://www.wildpoldsried.de/index.shtml?homepage_en (en)  (c) Gemeinde Wildpoldsried |
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| 3. Wood-fired power plant Sonthofen: energy from local wood for commercial, housing, and public facilities (by foot; ends at 16:00) A forest has many features. It provides biomass for the production of renewable energy, it serves as a place for recreation, and it filters our water. This field trip introduces you to the generation of energy from local wood in Sonthofen, and you will learn what this implies for other roles of the forest. http://www.bioenergieallgaeu.de/referenzen-projekte-bioenergie.html (de)  (c) Heinz Heiss |
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| 17:00 | End of conference |
Organisation and contact
Irene Brendt
CIPRA Germany
eMail
+49 1522 954 28 95
