The federal government is not doing enough to combat the housing shortage
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Across Germany, the federal government only awarded four plots of land at a lower price so that social housing could be built. Yet it is authorised and actually required to do so.
The fact that the federal government is not taking its responsibility for providing housing across the country very lightly, or at least is not using all its resources in the fight against the housing shortage, is shown by a small question from the Greens on the business of the federal government's central sales organisation for public land, or Bima for short. Bima has made just four building plots available nationwide at favourable prices for social housing construction - although it has been legally authorised and actually required to do so for almost two years.
„Dramatic for all those who depend on affordable housing"This is what Christian Kühn, a member of the Green Party in the Bundestag, calls it, because 60,000 social housing units are no longer subsidised every year and thus no longer for households with low incomes are available. "In view of the many very tight housing markets, Bima should actually set a good example and resolutely oppose any kind of price gouging," says Kühn.
Energiedienst's power-to-gas plant in Grenzach-Wyhlen is allowed to produce emission-free hydrogen from green electricity as of today. Photo: energiedienst.de
At a hydroelectric power plant operated by the energy company Energiedienst in Grenzach-Wylen, the production of green hydrogen has been running successfully for four months. The project produces 500 kilograms of hydrogen per day.
Hydrogen from hydropower: successful start for one of the largest power-to-gas plants in Germany to date. This is reported by the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW). The megawatt plant has been in operation for four months in April 2020 and is functioning reliably. A research electrolyser connected to it is also running successfully. The ZSW is coordinating the project. The operator of the commercial plant is the energy supplier Energiedienst AG.
The power-to-gas plant with an electrical connected load of one megawatt produces renewable hydrogen using electricity from the Rhine hydroelectric power plant in Wyhlen. Since it is not necessary to use the public electricity grid, grid fees and the EEG surcharge do not apply. In addition, high full load hours can be achieved because the hydropower is available practically around the clock. This further improves the economic efficiency and enables extensive operating experience to be gained quickly.
He said the plant has been running regularly since early December 2019 and has had 1,850 hours of operation since then. Previously, it was in trial operation. The monitoring system set up by the ZSW, which measures all essential components and subsystems, functions perfectly. The plant operates fully automatically in 24-hour operation both at full load and in various partial load conditions.
Efficiency of 66 percent
The ZSW monitors operation with the help of remote data transmission to Stuttgart and automated data evaluation. The overall efficiency of electricity to high-purity hydrogen compressed to 300 bar is currently up to 66 percent in relation to the calorific value of the gas. In addition, the researchers are investigating ageing effects and deriving potential improvements from the data.
So far, the plant has filled 62 trailers with hydrogen suitable for fuel cells. Each of these transportable containers holds around 300 kilograms. The plant can produce up to 500 kilograms of hydrogen per day. This is enough for an average daily mileage of more than 1,000 fuel cell cars.
Improved electrolysis
The research project docked to the commercial plant is also progressing positively. In a research plant, the scientists are testing improved electrolysis blocks with a maximum output of 300 kilowatts in parallel operation with the commercial plant. They should further reduce the price of hydrogen. But companies could also test and optimize components there.
Last year, the ZSW and its research partners already achieved an initial success during the test operation of the plant: with new electrode coatings, the researchers achieved 20 percent more power density compared to the electrolysis blocks of the industrial plant section. This means that less volume and material are required for the same output.
Goal: Halve hydrogen price
Since the investment costs are also based on the construction volume and the electrolysis units account for the largest share of costs in the conversion of renewable electricity at around 40 percent, progress in this area is automatically reflected in the price of hydrogen. For manufacturers of electrolysis plants, development is therefore an important factor for further cost reduction. The long-term goal of the ZSW researchers and Energiedienst engineers is to roughly halve the current production costs of electricity-based hydrogen.
The state of Baden-Württemberg supports the Lighthouse project with a total of 4.5 million euros. In 2019, a project based on this was selected by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology as one of the winners of the first round of the "Reallabore der Energiewende" ideas competition. A total of twelve partners are on board for this major project.
Electricity from the sun and wind is too expensive? Wrong: according to new studies, green electricity is cheaper than fossil energy worldwide and in Germany.
Since 2009, prices for wind power have fallen by a third, for solar power by 80 per cent and in the next decade, solar power is set to become a further 60 per cent cheaper. 170 countries now have targets for renewables, and large financial investors are looking for these secure plants. Electricity storage systems are also expected to be 65 per cent cheaper by 2020 and their capacity is set to multiply from 1 to 250 gigawatts. And the rival authority IEA, the International Energy Agency of the OECD, which for years tried to talk down renewables, now sees similarly rapid growth and falling prices.
Since 2002, the forest area in Germany has increased by about 50,000 hectares.
On the occasion of the International Forest Day on 21 March 2019, the Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Julia Klöckner, went to see the situation on site.
"The storm damage in winter, in summer, then the prolonged drought, plus the bark beetle infestation - last year was a disaster year for our forests, the damage is worrying. In 2018, more than 30 million cubic metres of damaged wood accrued. This is the fourth most severe damage event in German forestry in the past 30 years," the Minister said. "The continuing, serious bark beetle infestation will also lead to the death of more forest areas, and the exact extent of the damage caused will in some cases only be foreseeable in a few years' time.
Protecting the forest as much as possible is important. Because our forest fulfils a number of crucial tasks. It is a protector of the climate, a supplier of wood, a preserver of biodiversity and a place of recreation for citizens. For this reason, the BMEL will continue to work with the Länder to ensure that sufficient aid is available for clearing and reforesting damaged areas.
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