2 min, post from September 15, 2020
Tim is a photographer, father of Liam and rides his cargo bike all over Graz.
Extreme weather events such as heat waves, heavy rain, floods and storms do not stop at property boundaries. That is why adapting to the consequences of climate change is an issue for everyone - for politicians and administrators who are responsible for protecting public space, as well as for every private owner and tenant. It is also the task of cities, municipalities and districts to inform their citizens about possible dangers in this context and to point out solutions. The "Practical Guide to Climate-Friendly Building" provides support in this regard.
Keywords:
Greening / climate adaptation, Stock, DE-News, New books and studies, Quarters, Settlements, Environmental policy, Ecology
On the one hand, there are 80 photos by Ludger Dederich from 2013, at which time the district was as good as completed. The urban integration of the "Turning Torso" by Santiago Calatrava can be seen well in some of the photos:
https://siedlungen.eu/galerien/fotogalerie-2013-malmoe
The second photo gallery consists of 30 photos from an excursion with the Chair of Economics and Ecology of Housing (University of Karlsruhe), from 1999, when the Europaviertel was not yet completely finished and visitors were still able to look into some of the furnished model apartments, which were open to visitors, via the building exhibition:
https://siedlungen.eu/galerien/fotogalerie-1999-malmoe
Keywords:
News Blog Europe (without DE), News Blog Sweden, Quarters, Settlements, Water design
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.
Due to its outstanding commitment to the expansion of renewable energies, the Agency for Renewable Energies awards the city of Senftenberg as Energy Municipality of the Month. "In order to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, the heating sector is of great importance. With the construction of the solar thermal plant, the city of Senftenberg presents itself as a pioneer in the municipal heat transition," says Nils Boenigk, Deputy Managing Director of the Agency for Renewable Energies.
In the city of 25,000 inhabitants, the new solar thermal plant and a natural gas heating plant generate heat that is supplied to over 10,000 households via the local district heating network. The plant consists of 1,680 tube collectors that generate heat during the average 1,700 hours of sunshine per year. In the summer months, it almost completely covers the base load. The demand in excess of this is generated by natural gas boilers. Together, the plants replace the former pulverised lignite boiler. "The new solar thermal plant brings us closer to our goal of covering more and more of the heating needs of the city of Senftenberg with renewable sources," explains Mayor Andreas Fredrich. "With the largest plant in Germany at present, we are pioneers in the application of this technology."
The project is a highlight among the local climate protection efforts resulting from the energy concept published in 2013. This concept examines and evaluates the opportunities and possibilities for the expansion of renewable energies and the economical use of energy. The city focuses primarily on the heating sector, as its heating needs account for the largest share of total energy consumption. The new thermal solar plant makes a major contribution to renewable heat generation here. In the electricity sector, where up to 90 per cent of demand was already generated from renewable sources in 2011, the city is even aiming to generate more than 100 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
"The city of Senftenberg is well positioned in the field of renewable energies," explains Mayor Andreas Fredrich. "With the help of the energy concept, municipal and regional stakeholders can more easily identify energy saving potential and plan and implement the expansion of renewable energies more effectively."
A detailed portrait of the city of Senftenberg can be found at http://www.kommunal-erneuerbar.de/de/energie-kommunen/energie-kommunen/senftenberg.html
Keywords:
Renewable, News Blog Brandenburg, Solar thermal
Contrary to the agreements in the coalition agreement, the draft budget presented by the Federal Minister of Finance, Olaf Scholz, on 2 May 2018 does not include tax incentives for the energy-efficient refurbishment of buildings. Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) considers this a worrying revelation. The environmental and consumer protection organisation calls on the federal government to immediately launch a programme for tax incentives for the energy-efficient refurbishment of buildings and to increase the refurbishment rate for existing buildings from the current 0.8 percent to at least 2 percent per year.
"If the Federal Minister of Finance does not anchor this measure, which was agreed in the coalition agreement and is central to climate protection, in his draft budget, then he shows that he has either forgotten or already abandoned the climate policy promises of the new government after only a few weeks in office.", says Sascha Müller-Kraenner, Federal Executive Director of DUH.
Energy-efficient building refurbishment is a central element of the energy transition and climate protection. However, climate protection in the building sector will only be successful if the renovation rate in the building stock increases from the current 0.8 percent to over 2 percent annually.
"The two previous governments already failed to set the course for tax incentives in time and thus make a decisive contribution to achieving the 2020 climate protection target"Müller-Kraenner continues. "The reservations of the Länder that tax incentives would create a budget gap for them have been known for a long time. It is time to bring acceptable counter-financing solutions to the table."
After all, tax incentives for refurbishment costs are an important incentive not only for large housing associations but also for private homeowners to invest their own funds. The starting signal for this must now be given urgently.
Source: DUH PM of 07.05.2018
Keywords:
Stakeholders, Stock, DE-News, Funding, Climate protection, Environmental policy, Housing policy, Thermal insulation
