New brochure "35 climate protection settlements in NRW
Published
In its latest special report, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has emphasised the need for massive cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. With its "100 Climate Protection Housing Estates in NRW" project, North Rhine-Westphalia is pursuing the goal of significantly reducing these emissions by combining energy-efficient buildings with low-greenhouse gas building technology. 35 of these energy-efficient climate protection housing estates have already been completed. A further 50 housing estates are under construction and in the planning stage.
The new brochure "100 climate protection housing estates in NRW - role models for energy-efficient housing construction" presents the spectrum of the 35 projects realised to date on 56 pages. From Aachen to Bielefeld, from Kleve to Siegen, owner-occupied homes, retirement homes, housing association projects and publicly subsidised flats have been built throughout the state.
Head of the topic area Andreas Gries from the EnergyAgency.NRW: "The 5,000 residents of these estates benefit from low energy costs and contribute to climate protection at the same time." According to the publishers, some of the estates achieve greenhouse gas savings of 80 to 90 per cent compared to standard developments.
Inselwerke eG has been named Citizen Energy Project of the Year 2017. Photo: Matthias Gründling / Inselwerke eG
In future, three citizens' energy cooperatives will bear the award "Citizens' Energy Project 2017". A total of 17 projects nationwide took part in the competition for the title. The three winning projects received a particularly large number of votes during a two-month internet voting process, in which around a thousand interested people took part, and also prevailed in the evaluation of the jury consisting of committee representatives of the Bündnis Bürgerenergie (BBEn). The jury, consisting of five BBEn committee members, was impressed by the large number of applications to the competition, which was held for the first time, as well as the diversity of the applicant projects. According to the jury, the high level of the winning projects also shows how versatile the citizen energy companies in Germany currently are. This can be seen in the very different activities of the three winning cooperatives and the projects they submitted.
Development of a charging network According to the jury, the project of Inselwerke eG to set up an e-charging network on the Baltic Sea island of Usedom combines sustainable mobility and the expansion of the regional infrastructure so that "a strengthening of the important economic factor of tourism is achieved", as Thomas Banning, member of the jury and BBEn supervisory board member, emphasises. The professional concept of the cooperative convinced the jury and shows which business models are open to citizen energy companies. In particular, the possible duplicability of the charging network and the associated high reach of this approach are aspects that the jury considers worthy of an award. The Inselwerke eG developed a special Usedom model for a multi-stage expansion of the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles - not only on the Baltic Sea island, but also for the entire state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Since April 2016, the cooperative has been able to set up 16 charging stations at 12 locations in cooperation with 11 partners, and more are currently being planned.
Noise barrier with integrated photovoltaic system The second winner, the EnergieGenossenschaft Inn-Salzach eG, is awarded for its noise barrier with integrated PV system. The energy cooperative in the Upper Bavarian region had erected a noise barrier together with the town of Neuötting. The 230-metre-long and almost five-metre-high structure along a busy road is also equipped with solar power panels. The modules together have a maximum output of 64 kilowatts, which can cover half of the electricity needs of a nearby school during the day. In addition, the wall also separates the school from traffic noise. In addition, the project flows into the lessons and thus ensures a tangible integration of the topic for the pupils.
According to the jury, this integrative concept reflects the current progress of the energy transition and uses dormant potential. Thomas Banning emphasises the recognisable double benefit of the solar noise barrier as follows: "The noise barrier combines the generation of clean energy with protection from the negative consequences of car traffic. The whole thing also has a high aesthetic value and is easy to communicate. That's how you move more!"
Innovative municipal energy concept The third winner, BürgerEnergiegenossenschaft Emmendingen eG, is awarded for its activities as a cooperative. According to Kai Hock, member of the jury and BBEn supervisory board member, it strives for a holistic energy transition from a technical point of view. It achieves a strong local impact with its activities, which can be seen, for example, in the number of 180 members. Thus, the cooperative has a high reach of the energy transition with its projects and achieves this with different forms of application and technologies, which is why a high innovative character can also be attributed to it.
For example, Emmendinger eG gave schools and residential buildings an all-round energy upgrade, consisting of heating systems, CHP systems and solar systems. It has also equipped buildings such as the adult education centre with photovoltaic systems on a lease model. In addition, a PV system on a goat shed with 250 kWp is currently being planned.
According to the jury, the three winners are particularly representative of the high level of activity of the many citizens' energy associations in Germany. They are therefore rightly awarded the title "Citizen Energy Project of the Year", on which the jury congratulates them warmly.
In an interview with PV Magazine, Xavier Daval, President of the French solar association Ser-Soler, said the EU desperately needs a major European photovoltaic manufacturer. A complete exodus of the domestic solar industry to China and the US, he said, would drive Europe into energy dependency for decades to come. "We are not talking about a small task here. We are talking about the challenge of this century. When module manufacturing moved to China, the Germans thought they would continue to sell manufacturing equipment to Chinese solar producers. But now they have to look at equipping factories in China with locally made production lines. In the long run, this was a wrong decision. What the Europeans have to do now is to correct this situation. In the automotive industry, there are big players in Europe, China and the US. The same must now happen in the European solar industry. If we don't, we will be dependent on products from other regional markets in the future. For a century we have been dependent on oil from outside Europe. We must not allow a continuation of this dependency also in renewable energies and their technologies," says Daval.
Our home. Our West. Broadcast from 7.2.2020
43:39 Min Available until 07.02.2021
WDR. By Melanie Didier
From minute 25 to 29:50 the ecological settlement Waldquelle in Bielefeld is shown. Ute Möller, one of the founders, leads a tour through the ecological settlement and reports on the experiences and developments in the now almost 25-year-old settlement with lots of wood, greenery and solar cells on the roof.
The German Habitat Forum ended today with the "Berlin Recommendations". Thomas Silberhorn, Parliamentary State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Gunther Adler, State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, handed over the recommendations to the Secretary General of the Habitat III Conference, Joan Clos. The "Berlin Recommendations" are intended as a contribution to the new urban development agenda that the United Nations plans to adopt in October at the third World Summit on Human Settlements in Quito, Ecuador.
Thomas Silberhorn: "Decisions made by today's urban planners will shape the way we live together in cities for decades to come. That is why we have to set the right course now. Our meeting in Berlin has shown: Sustainable urban development is not possible without innovative ideas, partnership, networked thinking and action. The key role is played by local actors - a powerful municipal administration, non-governmental organisations, business and science, and citizens.
More than 1,000 urban development experts, municipal representatives and personalities from politics, business, science and civil society from all over the world had spent two days at the German Habitat Forum developing recommendations on how to shape a liveable future in cities. Sustainable urban development combines many aspects: urban climate and environmental protection, social balance, safety and quality of life for all citizens. For this, according to the recommendations, cities and municipalities must be even more strongly recognised, empowered and financially equipped as central development actors at national and international level.
A final preparatory conference for the Habitat Summit will take place in Surabaya, Indonesia, at the end of July. Based on the principles "Liveable cities - cities capable of action - integrated urban solutions", Germany will there support the negotiations of the New Urban Agenda push forward.
You can download the "Berlin Recommendations" from the following link: www.bmz.de/berlinerempfehlungen (PDF 135 KB, English)
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In its latest special report, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has emphasised the need for massive cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. With its "100 Climate Protection Housing Estates in NRW" project, North Rhine-Westphalia is pursuing the goal of significantly reducing these emissions by combining energy-efficient buildings with low-greenhouse gas building technology. 35 of these energy-efficient climate protection housing estates have already been completed. A further 50 housing estates are under construction and in the planning stage.
