Unstoppable Hungarian Wonder Village – VIDEO
Since 1996 the village of Nagypáli, Zala county, has done everything differently than any other Hungarian village. They do not sell unused areas but instead work on making the community more prosperous and improving the quality of life. The leaders had started steering the village toward renewable energy sources even before this became popular.
A few days ago they received an award from E.ON Energy Globe Hungary, acknowledging their success for their new Green Road Village Development Program.
You can read here about renewable energy support in Hungary.
Nagypáli started on its road to becoming the Hungarian wonder village with the election of Mayor Tibor Köcse in 1996.
Under his leadership, the population of the village rose from 272 to 500 people, and the average age of its residents is getting younger and younger. Their dream was to both preserve the traditions of a Hungarian village, and also to elevate it to European standards. It seems like their dream has come true: many tourists are coming to the area and thanks to renewable energy sources they created a village that works like a charm, is pleasant to live in and sustainable.
The village has been applying to many tenders. This is how they built their biosolar heating plant, solar collectors and the solar farm that is shaped like a sunflower and has a solar tracking system. Their down payment comes from real-estate developments, expanding apartment complexes and remunerative investments. They save a lot on utilities: their energy bill is only one-third of what it used to be thanks to their use of alternative energy. Renewable energy covers 70 percent of the local government building’s energy consumption.
The Green Road Village Development Program also helps to plant a grove in the village centre. They will be planting Smaragd trees, which is a special hybrid tree that is capable of remarkable growth even under extreme climatic conditions. It has excellent timber quality, an exceptionally high calorific value, the deep roots help stop soil erosion, the leaves can feed animals, and they also absorb enormous quantities of carbon-dioxide. In short, it balances the climate of their immediate environment, and therefore it is the perfect tree for a village that is environmentally conscious.
It should not come as a surprise that the local government’s official vehicle is an electric car which is, of course, charged locally in their own charging station.
Their next goal is to use only renewable energy sources in every household in the village.
Featured image: MTI
Source: sokszinuvidek.24.hu