ARD magazine Panorama shows: Newly built private apartments are often unaffordable
Published
Housing is expensive, especially in cities there is a lack of affordable housing. Build, build, build - politicians are relying on private investors here. They are supposed to solve the housing crisis. However, research by the ARD magazine Panorama shows that new private apartments are often unaffordable.
A study funded by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture determined the potential of hardwood as a substitute for coniferous wood. The results of the study are now available in a brochure published by the Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e. V. (FNR). There is considerable potential for hardwood to be used in industrial timber, but it cannot yet be a substitute for softwood in construction.
Already today, almost twice as much hardwood is provided in Germany as 20 years ago. Beech and oak are the dominant deciduous tree species with a share of 70 %. In wood use, there is considerable potential for using the accumulating hardwood industrial wood as a material. These potentials for low-priced wood assortments lie in particular in the production of wood-based materials such as chipboard or fibreboard. Higher-quality hardwood assortments are suitable, among other things, for windows and exterior doors, solid parquet flooring, interior fittings, solid wood panels and in exterior applications.
Potentials in wood-based materials and interior design
However, the study also makes clear that hardwood can only replace softwood to a limited extent. The timber industry with the key use of building with wood is dependent on softwood. The available hardwood cannot substitute softwood in comparable quantities for technical and economic reasons. The large number of species in hardwood with their widely differing properties makes standardisation difficult. Moreover, processing is usually technically more complex and causes higher costs.
More courage and innovation needed
In order to further develop the potential of hardwood use, the authors recommend, among other things, that companies be more courageous and innovative in establishing and expanding manufacturing processes specialized in hardwood use. In addition, sales-promoting industry communication and marketing for domestic hardwood are crucial for buyer behaviour.
The brochure "Hardwood product markets from a technical-economic and market structure perspective" is available in the Media Libraryavailable.
Background:
A conversion of forests towards more deciduous forests has been taking place in Germany since the 1990s. In particular, beech and oak trees are being planted in the spruce or pine forests. This is intended to make the forests not only more natural but also more stable against external influences such as storms and drought as well as climate change. As a result of the forest conversion, more hardwood will be available as a renewable raw material in the future.
The brochure is based on the BMEL-funded research project "Market potentials of hardwood products from a technical-economic and market-structural point of view - hardwood product markets" by PD Dr. Marcus Knauf, Bielefeld, with the assistance of Prof. Dr. Arno Frühwald, Reinbek.
The research project identified market potentials for products made of hardwood. Product areas in which hardwood is competitive with softwood or can complement softwood were analysed. The analyses were based on official statistics, published market studies, literature, the authors' own experience and interviews with experts. The final report is available at fnr.de under the funding code 22023214 available.
The FNR has been active as a project management agency of the BMEL for the funding programme Renewable Resources since 1993. It also supports research topics in the fields of sustainable forestry and innovative wood use.
The Senate today adopted a comprehensive catalogue of measures to accelerate the expansion of solar energy in Berlin, based on a proposal by Ramona Pop, Senator for Economic Affairs, Energy and Industry.
Senator Pop: "The potential study for the Solarcity master plan has shown that we can harvest 25 percent of electricity generation with solar energy from the roofs of Berlin. To achieve this, we must accelerate the expansion of solar energy in the city. It is necessary for the federal government to finally improve the legal framework for solar energy in cities. Nevertheless, we want to actively use the existing leeway at the state level. With the Solarcity Master Plan, we will expand information and advice, set incentives and also examine regulatory instruments. The implementation of the Solarcity Master Plan is a joint task for the Senate, but also for all Berlin stakeholders from business and society."
The expert recommendation Masterplan Solarcity was developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) and the expert group on the Solarcity Master Plan and includes a catalogue of 27 measures to accelerate solar expansion in Berlin as well as an accompanying study by the Fraunhofer Institute. One of the first steps towards implementation is the creation of a coordination office.
Since November 2018, 26 experts from the energy and solar industry, housing industry, associations and interest groups, state companies, science and administration have been supporting the Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Industry as a group of experts in the creation of the Solarcity Master Plan. In seven meetings as well as several appointments to discuss the topic in greater depth, the expert group identified obstacles and opportunities for the expansion of solar energy in Berlin. It developed a broad mix of 27 measures in nine fields of action. The creation of incentives and better framework conditions is addressed as well as the removal of barriers and the need for public relations work and information.
The accompanying master plan study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems shows that the target of 25 percent solar power in Berlin is achievable if the potential of all owner groups is tapped in parallel. A PV capacity of 4,400 MWp would have to be installed in Berlin by the target year 2050 in order to be able to generate 14 petajoules of solar electricity per year. The potential for this is available in Berlin. The study provides an overview of its distribution among owner groups, different types of use and the districts. It becomes clear that the majority of the solar plants to be built can be realised by private actors and state-owned companies. Therefore, both the study and the catalogue of measures recommend the conclusion of partnership agreements between the actors and the Senate.
In Troisdorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, the largest tenant electricity project in Germany is currently running with subsidised funding from the so-called tenant electricity surcharge under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG). The project, which was supported by EnergyAgency.NRW following an initial consultation, supplies 24 social housing apartments in three multi-storey buildings with a total of 75 residents with electricity. For this purpose, all roof surfaces were covered with photovoltaic modules with a total output of 86.9 kWp. The PV system is completed by six Powerwall 2 battery storage units from Tesla. "The tenants have committed 100 per cent to the project. In addition, the PV electricity, insofar as it is not consumed by the water-to-water heat pump or the tenants, is first stored in electricity storage units. This works so efficiently that we already reached an average self-sufficiency level of 83 percent in May. On isolated days and nights, even 98 percent," explains Frank Scholzen from Scholzen Immobilien, the company that owns the properties.
In rental electricity projects, electricity is generated in a rented property - by PV and/or combined heat and power (CHP) units. This direct electricity is often sold by the operator of the plant to the local energy supplier or - as in Troisdorf - by the landlord to the tenants. "The electricity offered to the tenants is cheaper than electricity from the grid. The advantage for the system operator is an additional income opportunity, as well as an ecologically sustainable electricity supply," explains Wilhelm Schröder from EnergyAgency.NRW, who accompanied the project in an advisory capacity.
However, the three buildings of Scholzen Immobilien are not only characterised by an innovative power supply, Troisdorf is also future-proof in the area of heat: The heating system consists of two water-water heat pumps with a combined thermal output of 76 kW. The well depth is only 14 metres - thanks to the high groundwater level not far from the Rhine. Scholzen: "The smart meters supplied by the Aachen-based company Discovergy enable continuous monitoring of the energy flows between the PV system, heat pump, energy storage and main meter."
In this complex and demanding project, many parties have to be coordinated. In Troisdorf, the following were involved:
Priogo AG from Zülpich (specialist partner for photovoltaics, heating technology, electromobility)
Discovergy GmbH from Aachen (smart metering systems)
Stadtwerke Troisdorf GmbH (distribution system operator)
Westfalen Group from Münster (residual electricity supplier)
Vaillant Group from Remscheid (manufacturer of the heat pumps) and Geotechnik GmbH from Wesseling (well drilling company)
In the meantime, the company Scholzen Immobilien is planning another tenant power project in Düsseldorf.
By the end of April 2018, a total of 19 tenant power projects subsidised under the EEG with an installed capacity of more than 350 kWp had been realised in NRW. The EnergyAgency.NRW has published a brochure entitled "Mieterstrom - kurz erklärt" (Tenant Electricity - Explained in Brief), which presents in detail the technical and legal aspects that need to be considered when implementing projects.
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 standards - and in some cases that good architecture can be created in the process.
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