Municipality Preddvor is located near city Kranj in the northen part of Slovenia. Municipality covers about 88 km 2 and has approximatively 3.200 inhabitants in 14 settlements. Municipality of Preddvor has a large wood biomass potential due to more then 70 % of forest cover. The community has good conditions for developing tourism; the area is non-industrial and very well preserved from the environmental point of view.

 

According to the statistical count of the population from the year 2002 the following shares of energy used for heating were represented for community of Preddvor. The main role is played by wood, second by fuel oil, followed by coal, electricity and LHP representing smallest shares. The aim and trend is to substitute fossil energy sources with renewable ones and to convert district-heating systems to biomass, both large and small-scale. In the main city Preddvor district heating system using wood biomass started to operate in October 2002 and is supplying up to 70 % of all consumers in three settlements. In May 08 the community installed 60, 5 kW photovoltaic power plant on the roof of elementary school and connected it to the grid. The main goal of the PV plant is education, promotion and demonstration.

 

People in Preddvor have already demonstrated their interest for environmental conservation, but are also very interested in an efficient use of energy and in being an energy self sufficient community. The community is planning to implement all necessary measures of efficient use for public buildings as a good example for other people. Those measures are proper isolations, regulation of heating, use of thermostatic valves and economical electric bulbs. The potential of rational use of energy is also very high in individual houses.

 

Individual households and small-scale companies in those 3 settlements connected to the district grid are planning a 100 % connection of all consumers. Further awareness campaign and investments are foreseen to achieve maximum connection to the established district-heating network. The target is to increase the economic efficiency and further decrease of the emissions. There is also significant potential for mini district heating and individual systems on wood biomass in other settlements of the community. Individual houses owners in other settlements are interested for the installation of modern individual biomass boilers in combination with the use of solar collector systems for hot water.

 

The successful implementation of the district heating system project and PV power plant in Preddvor shows that people are very interested in the use of renewable energy sources, especially wood biomass, which is currently the most available one. Preddvor has also big potential in the field of rational use of energy. The community does not have a lot of knowledge how to prepare for the Concerto proposal and how to apply all innovative technologies for energy self sufficiency, but the transfer of results and knowledge from partner communities in the Concerto III project SOLUTION will allow a good implementation of measures aiming to energy self sufficient community and reducing emissions. The community will use this knowledge and issue a proposal for the next call Concerto IV.