Fernwärme Wien celebrates 40th anniversary

Spittelau waste incineration plant features a unique combination of technology, ecology and art. To mark the 40th anniversary of district heating in Vienna, guided tours of the waste incineration plant – remodelled by Friedensreich Hundertwasser in the year 1991 – are now being offered along the Hundertwasser Trail.

Before the introduction of incineration, waste was dumped on huge tips on the outskirts of the city - in the case of Vienna it was the Rautenweg landfill. Dumping untreated waste has been banned in Austria since 1 January 2009. Today it is only the bottom ash residues – processed into cinder concrete – that reach the landfills. 

As long ago as the year 1969, the City of Vienna commissioned the company then known as “Heizbetriebe Wien” to provide district heating for the city and dispose of municipal waste in an organized manner. Waste incineration plants are now in operation in Vienna at Flötzersteig, more recently at Pfaffenau, and for 40 years now at Spittelau. This method of treatment reduces the volume of waste by around 90 per cent, whilst at the same time providing district heating to nearly 300,000 apartments and about 6,000 industrial customers.

Memorial to a waste-free society

Spittelau district heating plant – originally an unsightly grey utility building – was completely destroyed by a major fire in the year 1987. The City of Vienna wanted to secure the services of the artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser to design a new district heating plant. However, although the artist – also known as an environmental activist – initially turned down Helmut Zilk, who was mayor at the time, the advocate of a waste-free society eventually became convinced of the environmental friendliness of this method of waste disposal. So convinced, in fact, that he did not ask for a single penny for designing Spittelau district heating plant. Vienna’s most colourful and unusual waste incineration plant was soon to become a landmark of the city. The latest flue gas purification equipment was installed during reconstruction, as a result of which emissions were even below the stringent statutory limits.

A tale of waste

Every Viennese produces about 450 kilograms of waste each year. From Monday to Friday, the City of Vienna’s waste collection vehicles empty household dustbins. Every day some 250 dustcarts empty their loads at Spittelau waste incineration plant. After combustion in the furnace, incombustible residues are removed from the cinders. The flue gas produced during the process of combustion is optimally purified by various filters before being discharged at a temperature of 180° C. The golden sphere of the plant’s 126 metre high smoke stack – just 11 metres lower than St. Stephen's Cathedral – houses an emission monitoring station that checks the level of toxic substances in the flue gas before it is discharged. Each year the plant generates an average of about 6 megawatts of electricity for its own use and feeding into the grid network, and 60 megawatts of district heating.

In harmony with nature

To mark Fernwärme Wien’s anniversary, there will be a special Hundertwasser Trail through the plant until the beginning of July. The theme of this free guided tour is Hundertwasser’s works, campaigns and issues in the field of environmental protection and urban ecology, and his efforts for architecture on a more natural and human scale. The importance of district heating – especially in the context of environment and ecology – to the City of Vienna is also examined. The tour lets visitors look behind the colourful façade of Spittelau district heating plant. It is hardly surprising that colour is prevalent inside too. The stairways are daubed with quotations by the deceased artist, who sends Fernwärme Wien’s employees and guests on their way with advice like: “We are only Nature’s guests, and should behave accordingly."