Bavaria promotes photovoltaic storage

Published 2 August 2019

In the Bavarian 10,000 Houses Program, there is now also money for electricity storage units if the user installs them together with a PV system. Until the end of 2020, 24 million euros are available for the entire program.

The Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs has launched the new photovoltaic storage programme. It is part of the well-known 10,000 Homes Programme. From 1 August, owners of detached and semi-detached houses can apply for funding for a new electricity storage unit in conjunction with a photovoltaic system. In addition, there is the possibility for a grant for the installation of a private charging station for electric vehicles.

"We need to make better use of the sun's potential," says Minister of Economics Hubert Aiwanger. " With the new support programme, we will give additional momentum to the energy transition. It sets the right incentives to advance the decentralised expansion of renewable energies in Bavaria and will actively involve citizens in the energy transition." Citizens can also reduce their electricity costs with the help of the programme. The smart controls and connections provided for under the funding will also enable plant operators to participate in regional direct electricity marketing in the future.

The subsidy amount is graduated according to the capacity of the battery storage unit and ranges from 500 euros for a three-kilowatt-hour storage unit to 3,200 euros for a 30-kilowatt-hour storage unit. The prerequisite, however, is that the applicant simultaneously installs a new photovoltaic system whose output in kilowatt-peak is at least equal to the value of the capacity of the battery storage unit. For an additional charging station for electric vehicles, the subsidy is 200 euros. The Ministry of Economics is providing up to 24 million euros for the 10,000 Houses Programme until the end of 2020.

The successful EnergySystemHouse programme component will be continued. There, too, the use of solar energy and its storage in combination with energy-efficient refurbishment or particularly efficient houses and systems will be promoted. "The targeted promotion of innovative technologies is working, manufacturers are developing new systems and bringing them to market," says Aiwanger. "The number of particularly efficient heat pumps on the market has increased from 40 models to over 160 models. In the case of high-efficiency heat storage systems, the eligible models have increased fivefold to more than 250 models in the same period. Energy advisors report that many building owners are improving their plans and constructing or refurbishing buildings much more efficiently because of the programme."

All subsidies of the 10,000 Houses Programme are coordinated with the federal programmes and can be combined. It is very easy to apply electronically. Further information and the application platform can be found under this link.

2.8.2019 | Source: StMWi

Keywords: DE-News, Energy storage, Funding, Climate protection, News Blog Bavaria, PV, PlusEnergy house/settlement, Electricity storage, Environmental policy, Ecology

Published 28 June 2019

Tour of Europe's largest timber construction settlement

The Ecological model settlement in Prinz Eugen Park in Munich, currently the largest contiguous timber housing estate in Europe, was presented.

The Holzbaunetzwerk München organized a guided tour through the ecological model settlement in Prinz Eugen Park in Munich on 24.05.2019. In 2009, on the initiative of the Green Party, the City Council of the City of Munich decided to build an ecological model settlement with 600 apartments in timber construction in the new district on the site of the former Prinz Eugen barracks in Bogenhausen. Based on the urban design by GSP Architects with Rainer Schmidt Landscape Architects, eight developers, the municipal housing associations GEWOFAG and GWG München, building communities and building cooperatives have developed timber construction projects ranging from atrium houses to seven-storey residential buildings. Today, all projects are under construction and some will be completed this year.

The Holzbaunetzwerk München could welcome about 400 guests. The architects of the model settlement presented their projects to interested visitors, builders, urban planners, timber construction companies, architects, investors and citizens in two parallel guided tours on 24.05.2019 in the course of a tour through the quarter. The various timber construction methods, from pure timber construction to hybrid construction methods with reinforced concrete staircases to reinforced concrete skeleton construction with timber facades, were vividly explained using the projects.

Presented were the projects of the building cooperative WOGENO with the Quartierszentrale by Mr. Florian Lünstedt from the office Atelier 5 Architekten Bern, the GEWOFAG by Jakub Pakula and Eduard Fischer, Pakula & Fischer Architekten Stuttgart, the GWG München by Stefan Rapp, Rapp Architekten Ulm, the building community Team3 by Architekturwerkstatt Vallentin München Dorfen, the building community München GbR by Sibylle Hüther, H2R and PlanZ Architekten from Munich, the Baugemeinschaft Gemeinsam Größer II by Markus Borst, agmm Architekten+Stadtplaner Munich with Hable Architekten, the Baugenossenschaft Bürgerbauverein München eG by Markus Lager, Kaden + Lager Architekten Berlin and the Baugemeinschaft Der kleine Prinz by Ulf Rössler, dressler mayerhofer rössler architekten und stadtplaner GmbH Munich.

Afterwards, at 6 p.m., a panel discussion with the city councillors Ms. Heide Rieke (SPD), Mr. Herbert Danner (Die Grünen), Ms. Ulrike Klar, (City Director, Department of Urban Planning of the City of Munich) and Ms. Gerda Peter (Managing Director of GWG Munich) on the future of timber construction in Munich rounded off the event. It was discussed how the path taken can become a model for further new building areas, what lessons can be learned from the Ecological Model Settlement and how a promotion of timber construction can be designed for the future planning areas of the Bayerkaserne, the urban extensions in the east and north and the redevelopment area of Neuperlach. To this end, the Holzbaunetzwerk München wants to launch the Holzbaustadt München 2030 initiative with at least 2030 residential units in timber construction. How it works could be seen in the Prinz Eugenpark on 24.05.2019.

The Holzbaunetzwerk München was founded in 2018 by Andreas Lerge (Wood Real Estate GmbH) Thomas Kapfer Architekt and Ulf Rössler Architekt (dressler mayerhofer rössler architekten und stadtplaner GmbH). The Holzbaunetzwerk wants to work to connect the stakeholders from politics, administration, planning and business, to engage in the further promotion of timber construction in Munich and to initiate the vision of the timber construction city Munich 2030.

Link Holzbaunetzwerk Munich
www.holzbaunetzwerk.com

Keywords:
Wood construction, News Blog Bavaria, Settlements

Published 17. December 2017

Hamburg promotes timber construction and ecological insulating materials

Incentive to use less "grey energy" in the construction of non-residential buildings

The City of Hamburg promotes the use of wood for the new construction of non-residential buildings with a floor space of 100 m² or more.

The use of wood in the building construction of new buildings is being 800 € per tonne of wood product promoted.

In addition Insulation materials with the quality mark RAL-UZ 132 or 140 (Blue Angel) or the natureplus seal with a subsidy of 10,- €/m² component area promoted. At least 80 percent by volume of the thermally insulating building component must consist of the sustainable insulation material.

In an office building with 1,000 m² of heated floor space and solid wood exterior walls and ceilings, about 200 tonnes of wood are used. This would be eligible for funding of 160,000 €. The maximum amount of funding per building is 250,000 €*.

Link to the website of the Hamburgische Investitions- und Förderbank:
www.ifbhh.de/nichtwohngebaeude

*Data are only estimates for orientation, data without guarantee.

Keywords:
Stakeholders, Building materials / Construction, Funding, Wood construction, Climate protection, NaWaRohs, Sustainable management, News Blog Hamburg, Quarters, Settlements, Environmental policy, Housing policy, Thermal insulation

Published 25 April 2020

UBA publishes guidelines for the circular economy

Sustainable development is hardly conceivable without a consistent circular economy. Turning away from a predominantly linear economy requires a change of course. UBA has drawn up guiding principles for politics, business and society which systematically set out the objectives, scope for action, standards of action, requirements and success factors of a circular economy.

The pressure of strain is increasing
The world's population has doubled in the past five decades, and global raw material extraction has tripled. By 2060, the demand for raw materials threatens to increase dramatically from the current level of around 90 billion tonnes to as much as 190 billion tonnes. The competition is no longer just for raw materials, but for access to natural resources as a whole: such as soil, land, clean drinking water and intact ecosystems. According to the International Resource Panel, about 50 % of climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions and 90 % of biodiversity loss and water stress are due to the extraction, preparation and processing of raw materials. The negative impacts on the natural environment from the extractive industries as a whole, and the resulting waste and emissions, continue to increase. Meanwhile, only just under 9 % of raw material demand worldwide is met by resource-conserving secondary raw materials.

No "business as usual" with the linear economy

A rethink is slowly taking place to meet these challenges. For example, the European Green Deal, which sets out the EU's key development goals for 2030, makes a carbon-neutral circular economy a key pillar of sustainable development. The European Commission's new "Action Plan for the Circular Economy - Towards a Cleaner and More Competitive Europe" aims at a more circular economy, which is about preserving the value of products, materials and resources within the economy for as long as possible and precisely not consuming them, as well as generating as little waste as possible. The stated aim of the action plan is to reduce the footprint in terms of resource consumption in absolute terms and, to this end, to double the proportion of materials used in a circular way over the next ten years.

Circular economy, but the right way

This requires a systemic approach; across entire value chains and product life cycles, with a systemic change of the economic system that focuses on more sustainable production patterns and product policies. This transformation to a circular economy and its political design goes far beyond what can be regulated with the help of the German Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management Act in the production and management of waste. In the sense of a sustainable circular economy, other ministries, economic and legal areas are included. The broader focus is already partly reflected in the amendment of the Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management Act (2020) to take account of the revised EU Waste Framework Directive (2018). However, in the next few years, the systemic approach of the circular economy must be developed and concretised so that the overarching goals such as the conservation of natural resources, the protection of human health and a more sustainable supply of raw materials are also achieved.

Guiding principles provide orientation

The Federal Environment Agency has therefore drawn up nine guiding principles which are intended to create a common understanding of the circular economy, its central terms, principles, objectives, benchmarks and the most important approaches to action. Waste and secondary raw materials management is embedded in these principles as an essential functional area for a circular economy. In addition, there is also a place for overarching approaches such as avoidance, design and the consideration of how to deal with pollutants. The guiding principles are explained in detail in each case, and terms and starting points are systematically explained. In addition, standards are set on the basis of the objectives of the circular economy, assessments are made and the links between the guiding principles are shown. The guiding principles are intended to create an order for the circular economy and provide reliable orientation for its successful development.

You can find more information HERE>

Source: UBA

Keywords:
DE-News, Resource efficiency, Environmental policy