The Energy Transition Game empowers kids for a sustainable future – Workshops by BOKU & Austrian ECs schools

At the end of the school year, the “Energy Transition Game” transformed the elementary school in Ligist, Styria, into a renewable energy hotspot. Developed by BOKU University as part of Energy4all, the workshops focused on knowledge transfer, raising awareness, and community building, involving children, teachers, and parents. Forty-three kids turned into energy heroes, exploring various renewable sources of electricity and heat, gaining insight into the municipality’s energy needs, and investigating ways to meet those needs exclusively through renewables: solar thermal energy, biomass, geothermal energy, heat pumps, hydropower, wind power, and photovoltaics. The question was how, where, and in what combination these technologies could be deployed. A map of the municipality served as the game board, marking protected areas, settlement boundaries, and priority zones for wind and photovoltaics. Ligist is a municipality within the sphere of influence of the EEG-Verbund Lipizzanerheimat — one of Austria’s newly established energy communities (ECs) serving as an observation case for BOKU University.

Exploring renewable energies

The task involved strategically placing renewable energy facilities while taking into account land requirements and generation capacities. Monitors displayed the game’s progress and the balance between energy coverage and demand in real time, sparking enthusiastic participation. “We want to convey the complex interplay between energy demand and generation in a playful way and awaken the children’s curiosity about what is possible — meeting 100% of energy needs through renewables,” said Stefan Geier and Konstantin Lux of BOKU’s Institute of Spatial Planning, Environmental Planning and Land Consolidation, who led the workshops.

Energy communities as part of the energy transition

The energy community EEG Verbund Lipizzanerheimat organized the workshops and a prize draw featuring a quiz for parents, relatives, and neighbours on energy consumption, costs, and ways to share energy at home. By directing participants to the EC’s website, the message was clear: everyone can contribute to the energy transition by participating in an energy community. It enables the exchange of locally generated energy, saves money, and paves the way for a sustainable future worth living in for us all. Prizes included free memberships in the energy community as well as new perspectives:

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.“

Dr Jane Goodall, ethologist

Photos: © EEG Verbund Lipizzanerheimat