This is the building of a former coal-fired boiler house, which is currently being rebuilt into a modern biomass heating plant combining photovoltaics and heat pumps. It also has gas cogeneration units as a backup. The hot water pipeline leading from Cirkula supplies hot water to two housing estates with more than 2,000 inhabitants, while two more stages of its expansion are being prepared. The Cirkula re-use center is also located in the same building, which makes it possible to reduce the amount of bulky waste in the city. Rainwater from the roofs of the Cirkula is also channeled into an underground reservoir, which is used by local gardeners. The circular is therefore a textbook of sustainable approaches in the fields of energy and the circular economy.

Benefits:
1. A sustainable heating system for households and entrepreneurs at an affordable price, independent of Russian gas;
2. Prevention of waste in the re-use center;
3. Capture of rainwater and elimination of the fee for its discharge into the sewer network;
4. Creation of an educational object for schools and excursions of mayors from all over the Czech Republic.

Economic sustainability The heating system applied in the Cirkula energy center is based on the goal of the lowest possible heat price in Slavičín. This is now around 30% lower than the price of heat from gas and is based on the use of local biomass and during the summer on a combination of energy from heat pumps powered by solar electricity; in the same building there is a re-use center, thanks to which we keep the production of bulky waste low (Slavicín has one of the lowest productions of this type of waste - mixed/bulky - in the entire Czech Republic), which also leads to a low landfill fee, which is charged to the city according to of the Waste Act and is formed according to the amount of mixed waste production (the lower, the lower the fee).

The biomass heating plant with an output of 2.6 MW will burn an average of 130 truckloads of wood chips per year, thereby providing heat for 2,500 residents in the Malá Pole and Vlára housing estates. This saves approximately 2,700 tons of CO2 compared to heat gain by burning coal. Households sort their waste into collection containers, then take larger volumes to collection yards, where more than half is further separated. The city of Slavičín sorts 550 t of waste annually, of which 100 t is glass, 145 t paper and 100 t plastic. For consistent sorting and reduction of large-volume waste, it has won the "waste Oscar" award several times. Thanks to 346 photovoltaic panels with a total output of 130 kWp, energy from the sun is transformed into electrical energy, which is then used to heat water with the help of heat pumps. A battery storage with a capacity of 100 kWh is used to stabilize electricity production. Excess emission-free electricity is transferred to the distribution network by the substation. Rainwater that falls on the roofs of the complex is collected in a 16 m3 underground water retention tank. The water is then pumped into a small tank, which serves local gardeners to take care of dozens of gardens on an area of ​​6000 m2. The gas serves as a backup energy source. It is processed in 3 cogeneration units producing both heat and electricity (which further drives the heat pumps). In 2023, gas was no longer used. Not everything we no longer need must be thrown away. From 2022, the Cirkula RE-USE center has been operating in the area of ​​the heating plant and collection yard, which also offers functional items to citizens for further use. Every year, more than 1,000 items that would have ended up in a landfill find their new owners here. The RE-USE project of the Cirkula center was evaluated as the Communal Project of the Year 2022 in the sustainability category.

Self-sufficiency
The Cirkula Energy Center is the key to the city's energy self-sufficiency. It makes it possible to use local sources of biomass and solar energy to heat water. In addition, electricity is produced from gas in cogeneration units, which can produce heat and electricity in case of lower prices. In the case of crisis situations, self-sufficient production of electricity can be ensured in this way and hot water circulation to households and companies can be independently ensured.

Innovativeness
The object contains a whole range of innovative solutions:
- use of biomass to heat water, use of solar energy for the same purpose;
- capturing rainwater from roofs;
- concept of re-use center
- and the most innovative thing is the fact that all these elements are contained in a single object – the Circle.

Replicability
The goal of the project is to create a textbook for the replication of innovative approaches for professional excursions of students, mayors, etc. The goal is not only to replicate the whole, but also to enable the replication of partial solutions from the Cirkula facility.

The activity follows the city strategy "Chytrý Slavičín 2022 - 2030", in its final form not only external experts were involved, but also a number of Slavic people involved in five thematic working groups, as well as the general public, who had the opportunity to comment and participate in public discussions.

As part of the election of Slavičín as the Green Municipality of the Year, an informational video was created in which, among other things, the functioning of the Cirkula complex is described: https:/ /www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8H9Pblc2Uc

There have been many articles, TZ, etc. about the Cirkula complex, we attach this one here for an idea: https://www.mesto-slavicin.cz/redakce/index.php?xuser=874485341201242917&portal=1075&lanG=cs&slozka=317473&preview=yes&verze=151062