Aspect: Emissions

EN15 Direct greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1)

EVN takes numerous steps to improve the energy efficiency of its operations and reduce the emissions from production and customer usage. Greenhouse gas emissions are calculated on the basis of the rules and factors defined in the EU Emission Trading Guideline for the individual countries and cover all CO₂ emissions. The calculation is based on the primary energy carriers used and the given emission factors. The absolute volume of emissions increased in 2013/14 due to the commissioning of the Duisburg-Walsum coal-fired power plant.

EN21 Specific emissions of the EVN thermal and district heating (power) plants

EN16 Indirect greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 2) and EN17 Other indirect greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 3)

The calculation of indirect greenhouse gas emissions is based on the factors used to determine CO₂ emissions in accordance with the EU Emission Trading Guideline.

EN19 Initiatives for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the results thereof

EVN invests continuously in projects to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The initiatives launched in 2013/14 increased EVN‘s annual savings by approx. 96,000 tonnes of CO₂. The following section provides examples of these projects.

Windpower

With a total generation capacity of 213 MW, EVN is one of the largest windpower plant operators in Austria. EVN is also investing in new projects to increase its windpower generation capacity to 300 MW over the medium term and thereby reduce CO₂ emissions:

• The ground-breaking ceremony for a new EVN windpark in the communities of Prottes and Ollersdorf took place in November 2013. The 12 wind turbines with a capacity of 37 MW at this site will generate electricity for 24,000 households in Lower Austria. That represents a reduction of more than 55,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year. The commissioning of the windpark is scheduled for spring 2015.
• The new Prellenkirchen IV windpark opened in March 2014. Together with Kittel-Mühle, EVN built eight further wind turbines at this location. These 3-MW class turbines will generate roughly 25.6 MW of electricity for roughly 17,000 households and save approx. 39,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

Biomass

EVN currently operates more than 60 biomass plants, which make it the largest supplier of natural heat in Austria. In order to ensure reliable supplies of wood chips for the biomass plants, EVN concluded an agreement with Wiener Neustädter Stadtwerke and Kommunal Service GmbH (WNSKS) in 2013/14, which will deliver up to 300 tonnes of forestry wood chips each year to EVN’s nearest long-distance heating plants. EVN uses over 1.5m loose cubic metres of wood chips in its biomass plants each year. Continuous expansion is also the maxim for this area:

• The commissioning of a 3.8 km biomass long-distance heating network in the climate alliance community of Biedermannsdorf represented a further step to reduce CO₂ emissions. The resulting heat supplies for municipal buildings, apartment complexes and private households save approx. 960 tonnes of CO₂ each year.
• A further 845 tonnes of CO₂ emissions were reduced by the commissioning of EVN’s new biomass heating plants in Reichenau an der Rax and Strasshof, which opened in March and September 2014, respectively.
• EVN also completed a 4-MW long-distance cooling plant for the Mistelbach-Gänserndorf hospital during June 2014. It will save 260 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

Other projects

• In Schönkirchen, EVN built a solar power plant through a public participation model in 2013. The high demand for this project led to a second expansion stage in 2013/14 (Schönkirchen II). The Schönkirchen plant will have roughly 4,000 panels and a total capacity of nearly 1,000 kWpeak after completion. Almost 300 customers have invested in this project.
• The railway transport of most of the household waste in Lower Austria saved roughly 40,000 truckloads and nearly 4,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.
• EVN’s new biogas processing plant in Wiener Neustadt produces biomethane in a quality equivalent to natural gas and feeds it into the network. This allows for the energetic utilisation of approx. 1.1m m³ of biomethane per year, which covers the heating needs of more than 1,000 households. It also saves roughly 2,000 tonnes of CO₂ each year.
• The 31 km district heating transport line, which runs from EVN’s thermal waste utilisation plant in Dürnrohr over the Perschling canal and Traisental to St. Pölten, saves more than 40,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year.

• Also see “Innovations for a sustainable energy future” and indicator EN16

EVN also helps to reduce customers‘ CO₂ emissions with a broad range of energy services. For example, measures in the areas of lighting, photovoltaics and household appliances as well as energy advising for households during the period from January to September 2014 saved approx. 2,000 kWh¹⁾ of energy and reduced CO₂ emissions by approx. 730 kg²⁾.

¹⁾ Calculated on the basis of the method document published by the Austrian Energy Agency in October 2013
²⁾ Calculated on the basis of the energy mix ENTSO-E 2013