MAINAU ISLAND COMMUNITY BIOGAS

Description: the Mainau Island is a beloved destination of the Lake Constance tourism with great flower gardens as well as several restaurants. A main objective of the environmental policy of Mainau is 100% of renewable energy consumption. The Island commands a big amount of biogenic waste, which shall be used for energy production and as fertilizer. The energy managers are searching for peers to run a biogas plant for diverse material, like green waste and food waste. ISABEL will help with bringing regional stakeholders together, assess social and environmental impacts and pave the way for a self-organised association.

Members:

• Mainau Island energy management,
• City of Conctance (potential),
• regional gastronomy industry (potential),
• Cooperative for the Production of Vegetables Reichenau (potential),
• Private stakeholders from horse farms and composting industry (potential)

Main actions so far:

• introduction of biogas and social innovation through expert workshop, using the method of fuzzy cognitive mapping
• identify available biomass potential as well as suitable biogas techniques
• discuss suitable location for a biogas plant
• identify potential local partners and start to build a network
• presentations, workshop sand discussions

Next steps:

• Meeting with priority stakeholders to specify local needs and support social animators
• Exploring the potential of installing a micro-scale biogas unit to manage Community’s organic waste
• Supporting the Community until reaching the final bioenergy concept