Page 56 - Waste-to-Energy in the Danube Strategy Region. Challenges and Prospects
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4.1 Zwentendorf plant design
The Zwentendorf thermal waste utilization plant is located in Lower Austria, less than 40 kilometres
from Vienna. The plant was completed in 2003 with operation beginning in January 2004. After
expansion in 2010, the plant’s annual capacity was increased to approximately 525,000 tons of
residual waste, making it the largest of its kind in Austria. Furthermore, as will be described below,
the energetic interplay between the Zwentendorf plant and neighbouring industrial facilities also
make it one of the most advanced.
Waste is delivered mainly from nearby municipalities in the Lower Austria region by rail
and truck. Some waste is also imported from neighbouring countries Italy and Slovenia. Steam
generated by the Zwentendorf plant is directed to the Dürnrohr thermal power station, where it
is used to generate electricity (1.4 GWh per year) for 170,000 households; to the district heating
networks for Zwentendorf and St. Pölten; and to the AGRANA bioethanol plant. The unique system
whereby water steam is transferred directly to the steam system of the Dürnrohr coal and gas
power plant enables savings of about 100,000 tons of coal as well as 10 million m³ of natural gas
every year (EVN Abfallverwertung 2018b).
Project co-funded by the European Union
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