0:34 min, 26.09.2012
Project Info: http://sdg21.eu/db/hundertwassersiedlung-wohnen-unterm-regenturm
The new report to the CLUB OF ROME was presented to the public at a press conference in Berlin on 13 September. In addition to the authors, Federal Minister Dr Gerd Müller also spoke.
Read the whole article: www.globalmarshallplan.org/news/neuer-bericht-den-club-rome-berlin-vorgestellt
Keywords:
DE-News, Media, New books and studies, Resource efficiency, Environmental policy
Making life in the neighbourhood more ecologically, socially, economically and culturally sustainable together with the residents; that is the aim of "Real-world laboratory 131: KIT finds the city" at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). In Karlsruhe's Oststadt district, researchers in this laboratory are looking for ways to reduce CO2 emissions, conserve resources, strengthen neighbourhoods and improve the health of people in the district. The project has now been honoured twice by the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE).
"The special thing about this project is that we work directly with the people living and working on the ground at eye level and can therefore not only incorporate specific local knowledge and think ahead. Rather, this makes it possible to take action for sustainable development," says Alexandra Quint from the project team at the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS). Ways to make neighbourhoods more pedestrian-friendly are being researched, as are new methods for energy-efficient building refurbishment, and services for sustainable living and sustainable mobility behaviour are being developed. The researchers' work is highly interdisciplinary: "Architects, philosophers, landscape planners, cultural scientists, environmental scientists and geoecologists work together in this team," says the urban geographer.
This is not just research, but also very practical work: "For example, there is a newly developed energy concept for increasing the proportion of renewable energies in existing buildings or initiatives for slowing down our increasingly hectic everyday lives," reports Dr Oliver Parodi, Head of Reallabor 131. In the "Beds and Bees" project, citizens and scientists have jointly designed a snack bed with herbs, fruit and vegetables in public spaces and set up a hive as a home for bees. Quint explains that this not only serves to raise environmental and nutritional awareness, but above all to build community. All of this is done in co-operation with civil society groups, the city administration, associations, businesses and, above all, the local citizens who regularly take part.
A series of events also provides approaches and ideas for alternative consumer behaviour. Parodi mentions plant swaps, clothes swap parties and a regular repair café. "Reallabor 131 is designed as a platform for participation and has a strong networking character." The project's own "Future Space for Sustainability and Science", a former shop, combines the characteristics of a neighbourhood office, a science shop and a community centre and is now a popular meeting point, event and educational venue.
According to Quint, the concept is attracting worldwide interest: "The laboratory is a model, is designed to be transferable and has so far been researched by scientists from the Netherlands, Spain and Australia, with requests for cooperation coming from Mexico, Russia, Switzerland, the USA, Estonia, Portugal and Spain."
Honoured as a transformation project
The German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE), which advises the German government on sustainability issues, has now honoured the Reallabor twice: with the "Project Sustainability 2017" seal of quality and as one of four "transformation projects" nationwide. With this seal, the RNE recognises initiatives from society that make a special contribution to sustainable development in Germany and the world. Around 240 projects applied for the award. According to the jury, the transformation projects honoured have particularly great potential to make the world more sustainable. The awards were presented at the end of May at the RNE's annual conference in Berlin.
The website provides information on all the activities of the real-world laboratory: www.quartierzukunft.de
Photo of the award ceremony under:
www.tatenfuermorgen.de/galerien/jahreskonferenz
Source: Press release 076/2017 from 09/06/2017
Keywords:
Stock, News Blog Baden-Württemberg, Quarters, Contests & Prizes
Decentrally generated electricity from renewable energies can cover the demand for electrical energy in Bavaria both in balance and in perspective. This is the result of a joint study by the grid operators Bayernwerk Netz GmbH (Bayernwerk), LEW Verteilnetz GmbH (LVN) and Main-Donau Netzgesellschaft. The Bavarian power grid operators have analysed which development paths are possible for Bavaria with regard to renewable power generation and whether climate neutrality can be achieved in the power sector. The grid operators received scientific support from the Forschungsstelle für Energiewirtschaft e.V. (Research Centre for Energy Economics).
The current study follows on from the previous study from 2015 and describes the future development of renewable electricity generation in Bavaria. In four scenarios, the forecasts for wind and photovoltaic systems on buildings and open spaces are available in high regional resolution. The two scenarios "Interconnection" and "Regional Generation" look up to the year 2060 and assume complete climate neutrality of electricity generation in Bavaria. This requires a considerable increase in the number of photovoltaic and wind power plants. However, a CO2-neutral electricity supply cannot be achieved if the expansion trend of the last three years is merely continued (Trend scenario) or if the current federal policy framework (Policy scenario) is used as a basis.
"We need even more dynamism in the expansion of electricity generation from renewable energies if we want to achieve the idea of a climate-neutral energy supply," says Egon Westphal, technical director of Bayernwerk. "The distribution grids have a central role to play in this. They will continue to be the stable backbone of a decentralised energy supply in the future. The people of Bavaria can rely on this", says Dr. Egon Westphal.
In addition to the further integration of renewable plants into the electricity grid, the foreseeable increase in demand on the electricity grids as a result of new applications such as electromobility will also remain a central task. Through grid expansion, the use of innovative technologies as well as digitalisation and flexibilisation in generation, consumption and storage, the distribution grid operators see themselves well equipped for these tasks. "We can additionally optimise the necessary grid expansion if we can access flexibility options in generation, consumption and storage in a grid-serving manner," explained Dr Egon Westphal. In addition, the distribution grid operators will further intensify their cooperation in order to be able to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the electricity grids in the future as well.
The two scenarios "interconnection" and "regional generation" are particularly important with regard to climate policy goals. The interconnection scenario assumes a strong nationwide exchange of electricity via transmission lines - the most economical scenario in terms of cost optimisation under today's conditions. In the "Regional Generation" scenario, on the other hand, green electricity is preferably generated locally in Bavaria. In both scenarios, around 60 TWh of green electricity will already be generated in 2030, rising to around 85 TWh in 2060. If current electricity consumption is extrapolated, this amount would cover around 80 percent of electricity consumption in 2030. In 2060, Bavaria's green electricity plants will produce significantly more electricity than is consumed. In perspective, there will be enough renewable electricity available for the electrification of new applications such as electromobility, the expansion of heat pumps or power-to-X measures.
An important component in both scenarios is the strong expansion of photovoltaic plants: the installed PV capacity on buildings increases from currently 9,500 MW to 21,100 MW in 2030 and 32,400 MW in 2060. In the interconnection scenario, ground-mounted plants also record a significant increase, from currently 3,000 MW to 10,000 MW (2030) and 25,200 MW (2060). While in the regional scenario the expansion of ground-mounted systems is somewhat more restrained, wind power plays a more important role here. The scenario describes an increase in wind power from currently 2,800 MW to 5,700 MW (2030) and 9,300 MW (2060).
In the regional scenario, the strongest addition of wind power plants occurs in Lower Franconia with +1,500 MW. However, sites in the southern administrative districts (Lower Bavaria: +1,200 MW and Swabia: +1,100 MW) must also be developed in order to achieve the climate protection targets. In the other administrative districts, the expansion amounts to between 550 and 650 MW. In contrast to wind power, the expansion of ground-mounted systems is distributed more evenly across all administrative districts. With 2,300 MW, the largest addition is in the largest administrative district, Upper Bavaria.
More than 60 percent of Bayernwerk's grid is already made up of renewables.
Almost 300,000 plants feed electricity from renewable energies into the Bayernwerk grid, mostly from photovoltaics. In total, these systems have an output of almost 9,000 megawatts. Bayernwerk thus already transports more than 60 percent renewable energy in its grids. The most important energy sources are photovoltaics, hydropower and biomass. Wind plays a subordinate role.
Source: PM of Bayernwerk et al. from 28.11.2019.
Keywords:
100% EEs, Citizen Energy, CO2-neutral, DE-News, Renewable, Research, Climate protection, Media, Tenant electricity, Sustainable management, New books and studies, News Blog Bavaria, PV, PlusEnergy house/settlement, Environmental policy, eMobility, Life cycle assessment, Ecology
Between 2011 and 2016, the average price of building land for owner-occupied homes across Germany rose by 27 per cent from 129 euros per square metre to 164 euros. In the major cities, the price per square metre of building land rose by 33 per cent - from just over EUR 250 in 2011 to just under EUR 350 in 2016. This not only makes residential property significantly more expensive, but also puts the brakes on affordable rental housing construction. This is the result of an analysis by the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR).
The analysis is based on purchase price data from the official expert committees for property values for the last five years. In the urban and rural districts, the price level and increase lagged behind the major cities. However, even there the increase was well above the general rate of inflation. In the urban districts - often districts surrounding large cities - purchase prices for undeveloped land rose from 132 euros per square metre in 2011 to 156 euros per square metre in 2016 (+19 per cent), while in the rural districts, the price per square metre of building land rose from 64 euros to 78 euros in 2016 (+20 per cent).
The average purchase price for a plot of land for owner-occupied development also rose significantly - by 27 per cent to EUR 112,000 in 2016. In the major cities, the average purchase price for a plot of land for owner-occupied development was just under EUR 200,000 (+ 25 per cent). Average purchase prices have risen particularly sharply in expensive cities. "Rising land prices determine the purchase or construction costs to a considerable extent, especially in the growth regions. This makes residential property more expensive," says BBSR expert Matthias Waltersbacher. "In tight markets, high building land prices are also driving rents for new builds up to EUR 14 to 16 per square metre. This means that privately financed residential construction at affordable rents is no longer possible."
While the transaction figures for plots of land for owner-occupier development remained fairly stable in the urban districts between 2011 and 2016, they fell by 30 per cent in the major cities. Transactions fell particularly sharply in expensive cities such as Cologne, Frankfurt am Main and Stuttgart. Rural districts recorded an increase of just under 15 per cent in the same period. "Property prices have recently risen so sharply that the pressure to realise them often no longer allows for the development of single-family homes," says Waltersbacher. "More and more buyers are looking for alternatives in the surrounding area."
The analysis is based on an examination of the independent cities and rural districts for which transaction data for properties is available via the purchase price collections of the expert committees for property values in a complete time series since 2011. This representative longitudinal section covers around a third of all cities and districts in Germany. A comprehensive analysis of the land and property market for the years 2015 and 2016 will be presented by the Working Group of the Higher Expert Committees, Central Offices and Expert Committees in the Federal Republic of Germany (AK OGA) in December 2017 with the German Property Market Report.
Download the analysis:
To the pdf download
Keywords:
Construction and operating costs, DE-News, Media, New books and studies, Economics
