This is the heating installation in the village of Okina, in Álava, which provides heating for the houses and public buildings in the village from biomass that is generated in the surrounding area.
Okina is a village in the municipality of Bernedo. At the end of 2010, they pioneered a particular activity in the Basque Country: they wanted to establish a heating installation for the whole village, using the biomass generated in the surrounding area.
Last winter's high propane and butane gas bills scared the people of Okina. They then thought of devising a system that would use the abundant communal wood from the mountains in the area as a source of energy. Some studies were carried out in different sectors: investments, short and long-term costs and benefits, the best technologies and materials, the amount of biomass needed, the durability of the forest, prototypes at other sites, etc. Every detail of the project was thoroughly analysed.
- Kick-starting
- Local institution
- Social movement, social organisation