Restaurants go green in the Tirol

The Austrian Tirol has some of the greenest scenery in Europe, it also now has some of the greenest tourist destinations, hotels and restaurants. Restaurants and hotels are using geothermal energy, solar power, and construction that maximises environmental conservation. Here are details of some of the most innovative `passive energy' buildlings in the Alps.

Green mountain restaurants

The Sunnalm mountain restaurant in the Rifflsee (Pitztal) skiing area is the highest passive energy building in the Alps. It is built next to the top stage of the Rifflsee cableway, 2300m above sea level, and uses seven deep borings, 120 m into the ground, to tap geothermal energy, saving around 37,000 litres of oil annually. A combination of solar and geothermal technology enables fossil fuels to be dispensed with entirely. The restaurant, which is constructed mainly of wood and glass, is open for 135 days in winter and 100 days in summer (pitztal.com).

The Alpenhaus Idalpe in Ischgl has saved some 10,000 litres of oil annually since the 250 sq. m. solar system was installed with the new building in 2006 (ischgl.com).

The Masner mountain restaurant in Serfaus, which serves up to 2,000 people during busy times, uses a solar system for its hot water supply. Together with a ventilation system, it is also used for heat recovery (serfaus-fiss-ladis.at).

For more information, log on to Tirol.at.