Ireland no longer wants to make money from fossil fuels. With 90 votes in favour and 53 against, members of the Irish parliament voted in favour of a corresponding law last Thursday. According to the bill, the state-owned Strategic Investment Fund is to withdraw its money from fossil fuel investments. This would make the island state the first country to DivestmentThe aim is to realise the withdrawal of public funds from coal, oil and gas.
The fund has assets totalling eight billion euros. According to Pringle, around 17 per cent of the state fund is invested in fossil fuels. However, the law is not yet in force. The Finance Committee must first give its approval. Once it comes into force, the state fund will have five years to withdraw its money from fossil fuel investments. New investments in the sector would be prohibited in future.
With the successful implementation of the state program "Area-wide Safety Charging Network for Electric Vehicles" (SAFE), Baden-Württemberg is the first state to have an area-wide charging network for electric cars in a 10-kilometer grid. The SAFE charging network consists of more than 450 charging stations.
While the construction of public charging infrastructure for electric cars is still being discussed elsewhere, Baden-Württemberg has built up a comprehensive charging network in recent months. A reliable charging infrastructure with more than 450 charging points now covers the entire state in a 10-kilometre grid. A consortium of 77 municipal utilities and suppliers as well as three municipalities had joined forces under the leadership of EnBW and successfully implemented the state programme "Area-wide Safety Charging Network for Electric Vehicles" (SAFE). The final event was held today (04.11.2019) in Stuttgart to take stock.
Electromobility is not only suitable for the big city!
"I am extremely pleased that we have taken electric mobility in Baden-Württemberg an important step forward with the SAFE project. Because with the nationwide expansion of the charging infrastructure, we are showing: Electromobility is not only suitable for the big city! I was able to see this for myself during my charging stop in Bad Urach today. SAFE, which was realised within the framework of Baden-Württemberg's strategy dialogue on the automotive industry, thus illustrates that electric mobility in the state is not only a clean and efficient, but also a reliable form of mobility," said Minister President Kretschmann. A consortium led by EnBW had been awarded the contract for the project in May 2018. "The parties involved have managed to set up a nationwide network of charging stations in one and a half years. I would like to thank EnBW as the project leader and its many project partners for this remarkable achievement. Together we are showing that we are pushing ahead: We are stepping on the gas and advancing electromobility in Baden-Württemberg step by step," Kretschmann continued.
Transport Minister Winfried Hermann explained: "E-charging must be as safe as it is simple. Above all, the charging points must work. With the nationwide SAFE charging network, we are creating the basis for the electrification of passenger car traffic in cities and rural areas. In this way, we are facilitating the switch to climate-friendly e-mobility."
81 Partner on behalf of the State of Baden-Württemberg
The SAFE charging network consists of more than 450 charging stations and will be operated by the project partners for at least six years. More than 250 already existing normal charging stations and more than 60 fast charging stations could be included in the network. But the consortium also built around 40 new fast charging stations and 88 normal charging stations. In addition, twelve existing charging stations were upgraded.
"This is how the mobility revolution must be managed," says EnBW CEO Dr. Frank Mastiaux, summing up the cooperation in the project. "With clout and teamwork, 81 partners have built up a powerful and reliable charging network within just 18 months. Complex infrastructure projects not only need a reliable framework, but also a planned and coordinated interaction between different players. SAFE is an example of how this can be achieved: through a high level of prioritisation by each project partner on site, as well as with the state of Baden-Württemberg as the key driver and funding provider."
The central requirement of the SAFE programme was: In a grid of ten by ten kilometres, there is at least one charging station with 22 kilowatts of power. In a second grid of 20 by 20 kilometres, there is also at least one fast charging station with 50 kilowatts of power. SAFE thus provides an area-wide charging network for drivers of electric cars: On average, there is a charging station every ten kilometres throughout the province - even in rural areas. All e-car drivers have easy access to the SAFE charging stations via the connected electromobility providers.
Starting signal for the further expansion of the charging infrastructure
SAFE has laid another foundation stone for the expansion of the charging infrastructure in Baden-Württemberg. In order to drive this forward, the Charging Infrastructure Network BW will bundle the exchange in the state even more strongly. Current challenges will be discussed and solutions developed via this open platform. The state agency for new mobility solutions and automotive Baden-Württemberg e-mobil BW GmbH is coordinating the new network, in which the experiences and findings of SAFE will be taken up and continued. In addition to its own commitment to the rapid expansion of charging infrastructure, EnBW will also remain closely associated with the new network as a partner. The state of Baden-Württemberg is thus directly taking the next step to prepare the charging infrastructure in the southwest of the republic for the ramp-up of e-cars. To this end, it had also launched the Charge@BW funding programme for non-public charging points launched.
On the SAFE website you will also find a Map overview of all SAFE charging stations between Wertheim in the north and Constance in the south, and Kehl in the west and Giengen an der Brenz in the east of Baden-Württemberg.
Together with Ursem Modulaire Bouwsystemen, the DERIX Group is building a hotel made of wooden modules - 9 storeys high, in the middle of Amsterdam. Here, 2,100 m³ of wood will be used, 550 m³ of which is silver fir, with which the visible surfaces of the modules will be finished. The hotel is currently being assembled from 176 wooden modules, which are transported to the construction site completely prefabricated. 12 modules are assembled per day, and the hotel will open at the end of 2017.
Hotel Jakarta is the first energy-neutral hotel in Amsterdam and will feature 200 luxurious hotel rooms and suites, in addition to a wellness centre with swimming pool and gym, a skybar, various restaurants, an espresso bar, underground parking and a tropical garden.
What makes a sustainable university? Sustainability Council and 50 university administrations, employees and students are developing a sustainability code for universities. The test phase of the beta version of the university code will start in autumn. In autumn 2014, the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) held a stakeholder conference on "From Pilot to Standard: Implementing Sustainability in Research, Teaching and Operations" to discuss the implications [...]
Mayor Michael Grötsch; State Environment Minister Franz Untersteller; Karl-heinz Frings, Managing Director of GBG; Martin in der Beek, Technical Managing Director of rnv; Gregor Kiefer, Head of Construction Management, GBG. Photo: City of Mannheim / Markus Proßwitz
The city is to become cleaner and quieter: Under the heading "blue_village_Franklin", important future topics such as new mobility, energy efficiency, climate-optimised living or smart grids are being tested with the conversion of the former military area FRANKLIN. The SQUARE project, two model houses renovated according to the latest energy standards, and the electromobile bus lines 66 and 67 are part of this master plan. Franz Untersteller MdL, State Minister for the Environment, Climate and Energy Management, visited the two model projects in the new urban quarter on Tuesday, 4 August, as part of his summer tour "Environmental Future".
"With SQUARE, the city of Mannheim and the Mannheim housing association are showing a way to design climate- and energy-optimised living in existing buildings," said the Environment Minister during his visit. "It is impressive to see what has been implemented here in terms of building refurbishment, electromobility and smart grids. And it will be exciting to evaluate the results of this model project and make them usable for other projects."
Lord Mayor Dr. Peter Kurz explains: "With Franklin, an ecological urban quarter for over 9,000 people is being created that will set new standards. Our goal is to consume as little energy as possible throughout the district, to generate as much renewable energy locally as possible and to cause as few emissions as possible. In this context, the SQUARE model project presents two interesting approaches to solutions."
Back in 2014, the model project for energy-efficient building refurbishment SQUARE (smart quarter and urban area reducing emissions) was awarded a prize in the "Klimaschutz mit System" (Climate Protection with a System) competition run by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment. The SQUARE project application was prepared by the City of Mannheim's Economic Development Department in cooperation with the Climate Protection Control Centre. Thanks to the award, SQUARE was able to be included in the ERDF funding programme at the time and supported with three million euros. "SQUARE stands for one of the most ambitious projects in the field of GreenTech and climate protection in the city of Mannheim in the past decade. It is one of the pioneering projects developed from the "Blue City Mannheim" strategy concept of the Economic Development Department. The green tech innovation strategy from 2013 is still highly topical and sets the course for climate-neutral mobility and smart grids," emphasizes Mayor Michael Grötsch.
GBG - Mannheimer Wohnungsbaugesellschaft finally successfully implemented the model project on FRANKLIN. The first tenants moved in at the end of 2019. The two almost identical buildings were renovated according to different standards, one building according to the EnEV standard (SQUARE now), the second building with passive house elements according to an EnerPhIT standard (SQUARE next). Technologies such as smart grids, seasonal heat storage using ice storage and intelligent mobility concepts are being tested. The total of 48 rental apartments are spread across 3- to 5-room apartments between 84 and 109 sqm. "We are very excited about the insights we will gain through SQUARE. According to the calculations and simulations, we can achieve a CO2 saving of more than 50 percent in the comparison of the two buildings. In order to be able to save even more CO2, we are relying on the generation of regenerative energies. The ENEV building therefore received a photovoltaic system, the EnerPhIT building a solar thermal system," explains Karl-Heinz Frings, Managing Director of GBG.
"This is where the city of the future with the energy system of the future is being created," explains Bernhard Schumacher, head of the Smart Cities business unit at Mannheim-based energy company MVV. To this end, MVV is using smart technologies and the new possibilities of digitalisation on Franklin and is linking the various sectors intelligently and efficiently with each other - "not only to bring electricity, water, heat and mobility to the district, but also to make the new district the beacon of a necessary energy turnaround at the same time". MVV is also demonstrating what is already possible today in terms of electromobility on Franklin. In addition to environmentally friendly car-sharing solutions, such as FRANKLIN mobil, publicly accessible charging points are being set up, which will be networked with the energy management system and made more flexible. At the same time, the heating sector also plays an indispensable role. MVV has therefore built an innovative low-temperature heating grid here, which also enables the efficient integration of renewable energies.
Another item on the agenda of the visit is the three electric buses of the type E-Citaro, which have been in operation in Franklin on line 67 since April 2019. One of the buses was also funded under SQUARE. The environmentally friendly buses run every 20 minutes between the conversion areas on Franklin and the Käfertal Bahnhof stop. This will give people who already live, work or go to school in Franklin a direct connection to the rnv public transport network. "We are delighted to have EvoBus as a strong partner for this forward-looking project right on the spot," says Martin in der Beek, Technical Managing Director of rnv. "Over the past year, we have gained a lot of valuable knowledge in the operation of conventional electric buses and at the same time proved that the technology can stand up to the rigours of everyday public transport." In the future, however, other forms of propulsion will also be examined, he added. "We are currently looking intensively at the use of hydrogen buses in public transport and will soon be testing this technology at the rnv," reveals in der Beek. "Traveling by public transport is already more environmentally friendly per se than traveling by car, but we want to do even more for climate protection and therefore also convert our vehicle fleet to emission-free drives as far as possible."
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