Biomass plant is
‘beautifully simple’
Vail town manager tours Lech, Austria,
with local group
Edward Stoner
February 20, 2006
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\A contingent from the Vail
Valley recently visited Lech, Austria, Beaver Creek's sister
resort.
Brian Sipes/Special to the Daily
|
A contingent from the Vail Valley
recently visited Lech, Austria, Beaver Creek's sister resort.
Brian Sipes/Special to the Daily
|
| About Lech, Austria |
Vertical: 3,387 feet
Top elevation: 8,099 feet
Village elevation: 4,757 feet
Lifts: 34 (18 chairs, 11 surface) |
|
Zemler said he was impressed by the operation of
the plant.
“The biofuel plant is beautifully simple,” he said.
The plant has one full-time employee and two part-time employees, he
said. The employees dump wood chips into a furnace. Then, heat is sent
from the plant into the town via water, where it heats buildings.
A pile of woodchips sits outside the
biofuel plant in Lech, Austria. Vail Town Manager Stan Zemler
visited the plant as part of a trip to Lech. Talk about a biomass
plant for Vail has heated up in recent months.
Stan Zemler/Special to the Daily
Browse Vail Daily Photos
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Talk of a biomass plant for Vail has increased in
recent months, especially in light of dying pine-beetle-invested trees
in surrounding forests. Some say the dead trees have created the
potential for a fire that could destroy homes and other buildings in
Vail.
A town official from Lech gave a presentation on its biomass plant to
Vail Town Council last fall. And Summit County is proposing a project
to heat several government buildings in Frisco with energy from wood
and other forest debris.
Vail also should strive to emphasize customer service the same way
Lech does, Zemler said.
“Wherever you were, it was clear that customer service is exemplary,”
he said.
Lech also has activities for people who don’t want
to ski — such as ice skating and tobogganing — and all the activities
are in the village, rather than on the mountain, like Vail Mountain’s
Adventure Ridge, Zemler said.
“There was more of that type of different opportunity,” he said.
Other members of the group were Avon Town Councilman Brian Sipes and
Beaver Creek Director of Community Relations Ludwig Kurz, who is a
former Vail mayor.
Sipes said he was impressed with the efficiency of the engineering. He
said it has the potential to work well in Eagle County, especially in
a place like Vail Village or Lionshead where buildings are close to
each other.
“There’s no question it would work,” he said. “The technology is
proven.”
Staff Writer Edward Stoner can be reached at 949-0555, ext. 14623, or
estoner@vaildaily.com.
Vail, Colorado
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