Since August 2016, fuel cell heating systems have been subsidised with an attractive grant of at least EUR 5,700 via the KfW programme "Energy-efficient construction and refurbishment - fuel cell grant". With a fuel cell heating system, electricity and heat can be generated simultaneously according to the principle of combined heat and power.
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200 years ago, Karl Freiherr von Drais built the first bicycle - an invention with far-reaching consequences. A song of praise for the smartest means of transport. Read article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung from 13.11.2016
NRW.BANK's new promotion loan is aimed at all condominium associations (WEGs) in North Rhine-Westphalia that want to modernise or refurbish the housing they mainly use themselves, have no commercial landlords as members and consist of at least five owners. Smaller WEGs can make use of the NRW.BANK.Gebäudesanierung promotion programme.
With efficiency, greater electrification and renewable energies it is possible to organise transport that is completely neutral in terms of greenhouse gases without having to accept any restrictions on growth and quality of life. This is the result of scenarios developed by the Öko-Institut and presented today in Berlin by Parliamentary State Secretary Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter. The scenarios for greenhouse gas-neutral transport were developed jointly [...]
With a press conference on 13 September, the new report to the CLUB OF ROME was presented to the public in Berlin. In addition to the authors, the Federal Minister Dr. Gerd Müller also spoke. Read the whole article: www.globalmarshallplan.org/news/neuer-bericht-den-club-rome-berlin-vorgestellt
In October, the Habitat III Conference took place in Quito. The "New Urban Agenda" was adopted there. It is intended to help the world community to shape the global urbanisation process in a sustainable way. Why is there so little discussion about this in Germany?
In September, Germany's largest thermal solar plant officially went into operation in the Brandenburg city of Senftenberg. The plant was built by Stadtwerke Senftenberg on an area of around 2.2 hectares and is expected to produce around four million kilowatt hours of heat per year.
Support for solar houses with large photovoltaic and solar thermal systems for heat, electricity and mobility remains constantly high "Solar houses with large photovoltaic and solar thermal systems for the climate-friendly generation of electricity and heat are not affected by the changes in the amended Renewable Energy Sources Act." Rainer Körner, 2nd chairman of the Sonnenhaus-Institut e.V., points this out. Since [...]
At the end of the UN conference Habitat III in Quito (Ecuador), the environmental and development organization Germanwatch draws a mixed balance. "Around 50,000 people took part in the conference. This alone shows that cities are considered to be of great importance on the way to a sustainable world.
They are highly efficient, low-emission and quiet: New fuel cell heating units generate heat and electrical energy as mini CHP units with over 90 percent efficiency. They have been tested extensively in detached and semi-detached houses, and their function and design have been improved step by step. The first systems are already on the market. They can be operated with natural gas as well as [...]
In 2015, a new excursion attraction was created near Waldbröl in the vicinity of Bonn and Cologne that is not only attractive to wood construction fans: the Panarbora nature experience park. Covering an area the size of eleven football pitches, the park offers a unique combination of nature, amusement and environmental knowledge. The heart of the park is a treetop path [...]
Vision 2020 The municipality of Wüstenrot wants to be energy self-sufficient by 2020. The project "EnVisaGe - Development of a municipal plus-energy concept using the example of the municipality of Wüstenrot" is part of the EnEff:Stadt initiative and describes how, in addition to reducing primary energy use and CO₂ emissions (keyword "decarbonisation"), independence from energy imports can be achieved and local value creation strengthened [...].
In the run-up to the UN World Summit on Human Settlements Habitat III, the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) points to the major challenges of increasing urbanization. In its report "Moving Humanity: The Transformative Power of Cities", the WBGU stresses that a brief window of opportunity is opening up in the next decades of urbanization "to [...]
The member states of the United Nations want to agree on a new urban agenda at the Habitat III conference in Quito. This "New Urban Agenda" is to serve as a political guideline for urban development over the next two decades. Together with Friedrich Kitschelt, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs Barbara Hendricks will take part in the official opening [...]
In Jerry Yudelson's latest book, "Reinventing Green Building: Why Certification Systems Aren't Working and What We Can Do About It," published in June 2016, the American pioneer of sustainable building writes that certification systems are not advancing the needed sustainable development in the building sector quickly and substantially enough.
"Well-insulated and energy-efficient modern housing must remain affordable for poorer people. This is crucial, said DBU Secretary General Dr Heinrich Bottermann at the expert forum "Urban Spaces in Climate Change", so that there is no division in society. He also emphasised how important it is for climate-neutral and resource-saving neighbourhood development to increasingly rely on timber construction [...]
In a study of new residential construction in the Hanseatic city, the Institute for Research and Consulting for Housing, Real Estate and the Environment (F+B) comes to the conclusion that energy requirements such as overall energy efficiency or energy efficiency in Hamburg do not make building more expensive.
In the 2nd quarterly report on the development of renewable energies in Germany published by the Renewable Energies Statistics Working Group, it becomes clear that they are not growing as fast as in the previous year. The addition of photovoltaics fell from 614 megawatts in the first half of 2015 to only 514 megawatts in the current year [...]
„Das Gemeinsame an Digitalisierungsgesellschaft und Ökoszene? Beide sind unpolitisch, meint Sozialpsychologe Harald Welzer.“ Quelle: Die zeozwei-Kontroverse: Ökos sind unpolitisch
Electric cars are subsidised by the state, but not e-bikes. The bicycle lobby finds this unfair, as does the Federal Council - an opportunity for a change in transport is being missed, they argue. The government disagrees. Read the article from 2.9.2016 on SPIEGEL ONLINE "Purchase premium for e-bikes: Pedal aid from the Bundesrat".
Electric cars with E-plates will be allowed to park free of charge in municipal parking lots in Bonn in the future. This was decided by the Council in its meeting on Thursday, 22 September. It thus followed a draft resolution of the administration for the implementation of the Electromobility Act. In addition, parking spaces are to be set up at charging stations for e-cars and the charging infrastructure is to be developed in coordination with [...].
Cooperatives and building communities promise affordable and sociable living. But what is everyday life like there? Read more on the website of the Süddeutsche Zeitung
17:14 min, Published 12 Sep 2016 The film shows how the pioneering municipalities of Bremen, Aidlingen and Dortmund take fair trade into account in municipal procurement.
22 Kommunen in ganz Deutschland werden mit Förderung des Bundesumweltministeriums einen Klimaschutz-Masterplan entwickeln und umsetzen. Die sogenannten Masterplan-Kommunen vereint das Ziel, ihre Treibhausgasemissionen bis 2050 um 95 Prozent zu senken und ihren Endenergieverbrauch gegenüber 1990 zu halbieren. In Schleswig-Holstein gehören die Region Flensburg und die Landeshauptstadt Kiel zu den geförderten […]
"BISKO" is neither a sausage nor a new chocolate bar, but the new "Municipal Accounting Standard". After four years of development, a methodology paper is now available that provides clear accounting rules for energy and greenhouse gas balances for municipalities in Germany. In a lengthy consultation process, coordinated and technically led by ifeu Heidelberg, [...]
It was to be the first 6-storey wooden building in NRW, now 5 storeys are being realised as student accommodation with 32 units in passive house standard. The building is located not far from Bonn's main railway station and is implemented with a car sharing concept.
The number of sustainably constructed buildings worldwide will double by 2018. This is the conclusion of the study "World Green Building Trends 2016", which was published this week by the market research organization Dodge Data & Analytics. More than 1,000 architects, engineers and building professionals from 69 countries participated in the study [...]
Since 2012, the DGNB certification system has provided local authorities with a tool that helps them to optimise neighbourhoods from a sustainability perspective and to document this through an award. For this system, the DGNB has now specifically further developed the criteria catalogue and significantly reduced the scope through adjustments. This would [...]
The flame retardant HBCD, which was mainly used in polystyrene insulation boards, has been banned since March 2016. But trouble looms from the many millions of cubic metres of HBCD-containing insulation material that have already been installed in Germany. The flame retardant hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) has been largely banned from trade and use in the EU since spring 2016. HBCD was [...]
More and more cargo bikes can be rented throughout Germany. For good reason: if you only need a transport bike occasionally or want to test it out in detail first, you don't need to buy one right away. For this case, cargo bike sharing systems or rental offers are particularly attractive.
The Federal Government has agreed to fund one of four regional "Sustainability Strategies Network Offices" in Bonn. This was announced by Chancellor Merkel and the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) at the RNE annual conference in Berlin at the end of May.
Many thanks to Mr Pohlmeyer for the current photos of the small "cube settlement" planned by Peter Hübner (plus+, Neckartenzlingen). To the photo gallery 9/2016
with sociologist Patrick Sachweh "It feels like everything is becoming more and more unequal - but people still don't want more redistribution. Sociologist Patrick Sachweh knows why." in the Süddeutsche Zeitung from 10.9.2016
The renovation project "Efficiency House Plus in Old Buildings" shows how two dilapidated rows of houses from the 1930s can be brought up to plus energy levels - and in some cases that good architecture can be created in the process. Read more on the DETAIL website
E-bikes replace conventional delivery bikes and make work easier for letter carriers Deutsche Post operates the largest e-fleet in Germany with 2,500 StreetScooters "Work" and 10,500 pedelecs Local emissions target: 70 percent of last-mile deliveries to be converted to clean solutions by 2025 The number of e-bikes is to be increased in the coming years [...]
