Sustainability Council: Sustainability standard for universities
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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 [...]
Housing has become a public issue like it hasn't been for years. That is why the competition for the German Building Owner Award 2018 has come at the right time. It is organised by the working group KOOPERATION GdW Bundesverband deutscher Wohnungs- und Immobilienunternehmen, Bund Deutscher Architekten BDA and Deutscher Städtetag (DST).
Initially offered without differentiation, the prize has been awarded in the categories "New Construction" and "Modernisation" since 1997. Due to the increasing complexity and interpenetration of new construction and modernisation projects, this separation will be waived in the 2018 competition. Pure new construction or modernisation projects as well as mixed forms can be submitted.
The organisers invite all interested parties to take part in this competition, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety.
German Building Award - the most important prize in the field of residential construction in Germany
The competition for the German Building Owners' Award is based on the conflicting priorities of high quality and affordable costs, and aims to highlight the special role of building owners. The working group KOOPERATION GdW-BDA-DST launched this competition in 1986 to support positive approaches and solutions in housing construction.
Stadtwerke Herne is planning to build a climate-friendly and car-free housing estate with an innovative energy concept in Sodingen: seven detached single-family homes are being built in Baueracker, which will be largely self-sufficient in terms of energy. The building permit is expected before the end of this year. The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for early 2018. The first families are expected to move in in February 2019.
Whether heating, electricity or hot water - the houses are to produce almost all the energy they need themselves from renewable sources. A large photovoltaic system on each roof and a battery storage system are the basis for this. Geothermal and air-source heat pumps are combined with these. The result is a variety of energy concepts developed by Smart-Tec, the municipal utility's heating service. Smart-Tec also supplies the technology and ensures smooth operation.
PV power: 70 kWp
At the heart of the project is a new type of electricity storage, the so-called redox flow battery. It has extremely low energy losses and can be recharged almost indefinitely. "This concept is unique in Germany," knows Stephan Becker, who is responsible for the project at the municipal utility. This is why the construction project also successfully qualified for the "EnergyEnvironmentEconomy.NRW" lead market competition organized by the state and the EU. Fraunhofer UMSICHT is providing scientific support.
In addition to the energy concept, car-free living is also a special feature in Herne. Cars are parked outside the settlement in a solar garage. "This makes the settlement safe and child-friendly, and there is also nothing to prevent the purchase of an electric car," Becker continues.
The detached single-family homes have a living area of around 120 square meters. The plot size starts at 215 square meters. Building-willing can announce themselves already now under telephone 02323/592-315 or autark-wohnen@stadtwerke-herne.de apply, as a large response is expected. Detailed information will be available after the summer holidays.
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.
More and more people are answering the question "How do we want to live?" with "Together instead of alone." Community living has become very popular in recent years, both among young and older people. The forms of new residential, house and housing communities are diverse: from self-sufficient eco-villages and multi-generational housing projects to so-called "beguine projects" for women.
The ARL - Academy for Spatial Research and Planning took up this topic in the 1/2016 issue of "ARL News" under the title "Housing projects - from niche to trend?". Micha Fedrowitz contributed an article on communal living in Germany.
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Stadtwerke Herne is planning to build a climate-friendly and car-free housing estate with an innovative energy concept in Sodingen: seven detached single-family homes are being built in Baueracker, which will be largely self-sufficient in terms of energy. The building permit is expected before the end of this year. The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for early 2018. The first families are expected to move in in February 2019.
