a better CMG OMG ... like a virgen

A short blog update:  Just got through attending an all 'German'... no make that all 'Austrian' language Energy discussion where the best cities were profiled regarding renewable energy... and the winner is 'Virgen'... Ok, I can see the next comment (thanks Trevor for the OMG connection :-)...  being 'like a Virgen'... renewed for the very first time??  (yikes!  a bit over/under the top?  my adolescent apologies)

This City does it all... microhydro power from 3 rivers,  big biomass CHP (Combined Heat + Power), zero energy and PassivHaus standard homes, geothermal heat pumps (GSHP)... along with a transportation infrastructure plan to reduce their overall CO2 footprint.

The city won a Gold Award in the Europe Energy City program for 2010... I'll blog more about it and other cities later.  Most importantly, I am learning the analysis, GIS overlays, and infrastructure development process that engineering consulting firms and city planners go through in conceptualizing a 100% renewable energy city.

This gentleman did the presentation in a VERY HEAVY austrian accent and i got only about 20-30% of his speech but have access to all his powerpoints... truly AMAZING...

These cities (1-2000+ inhabitants) here are so, so far ahead of us on switching away from centralized grids and fossil based energy sources.