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HDH launches sector initiative on climate protection in the timber industry

Published

In December 2020, the German Timber Industry Association (HDH) launched the "Initiative for Climate Protection in the Timber Industry". The aim is to support the industry companies in the necessary reduction of CO2 emissions. The initiative is now being further developed into an innovation cluster.

"We started with the claim to offer companies CO2 accounting and to accompany them to certified climate neutrality," says HDH CEO Denny Ohnesorge. "The response has been overwhelming: more than 40 companies have joined the initiative so far. We quickly realised that this can only be a first step. Climate neutrality is good, but further reducing energy consumption in processes and thus saving energy and greenhouse gases is even better. The best energy is the energy that is not consumed.

Under this motto, an Erfa group is to be established within the framework of the cluster and concrete ideas and measures are to be developed with the participation of consultants, service providers and science. This promotes the transfer of knowledge in this subject area and helps the companies to identify further CO2 saving opportunities in all operational areas, to introduce process innovations and to initiate corresponding projects. The innovation cluster will start with three online seminars for all interested parties:

1st CO2 balancing: 08.11.2021, 15-16 hrs
2. climate strategy for companies: 06.12.2021, 3 - 4 p.m.
3. sustainable mobility concepts for companies, 13.12.2021, 3 - 4 p.m.

The HDH is supported by the Gesellschaft für Klimaschutz Holzindustrie - GKH GmbH, which also carries out the certification of climate neutrality according to internationally recognised standards. Further information is provided on the website of the industry initiative climateprotectionwoodindustry.com and on woodindustry.com published. The establishment of the innovation cluster is supported by the Agency of Renewable Resources (Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e. V.). (FNR) and funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

The complete Programme of the seminar series and all information about registration is available here.

 

Background

In December 2020, the German Association of the Wood and Plastics Processing Industries and Related Industries (HDH) launched the CLIMATE PROTECTION IN THE WOOD INDUSTRY initiative. The goal: to support companies in making their contribution to climate protection by reducing greenhouse gases - for a climate-neutral industry. The initiative builds on the experiences of the climate pact of the furniture industry. Against the background of increasingly important climate protection measures, it is an offer to all companies in the sector to become climate neutral with the support of the HDH and its member associations.


Keywords: DE-News, Wood construction, Climate protection, Sustainable management, Resource efficiency, Life cycle assessment

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Germany's largest solar thermal plant is being built in Ludwigsburg
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Germany's largest solar thermal plant is being built in Ludwigsburg

Parliamentary State Secretary Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter of the BMUB (3rd from left) hands over the grant notification for 10.4 million euros to SWLB. On the photo: Ursula Keck (Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SWLB and Mayor of Kornwestheim, left), Werner Spec (Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SWLB and Mayor of the City of Ludwigsburg, 2nd from left), Managing Director of SWLB, Bodo Skaletz (3rd from right), Steffen Bilger (Member of the Bundestag, 2nd from right), Jürgen Walter (Member of the Bundestag, right).

Stadtwerke Ludwigsburg-Kornwestheim is building one of the largest solar thermal plants in Germany with a collector area of over 10,000 m². The way is clear for another forward-looking project in Ludwigsburg: Stadtwerke Ludwigsburg-Kornwestheim GmbH (SWLB) has won the funding call for municipal climate protection model projects as part of the national climate protection initiative of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety in Berlin.

Their funding application for the SolarHeatGrid model project for the 'construction and connection of one of the largest solar thermal plants in Germany to an optimised heating network', in which the City of Ludwigsburg is involved as a cooperation partner, was approved. The official handover of the Municipal Climate Protection Model Project grant to Bodo Skaletz, Managing Director of SWLB, took place on 12 May 2017 by Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, in the presence of the Lord Mayor of the City of Ludwigsburg and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SWLB, Werner Spec, and the Lord Mayor of the City of Kornwestheim and Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Stadtwerke.

"In terms of the amount of funding, our solar thermal project is the front-runner in the ranking of the seven projects that were also approved. The federal government is contributing 10.4 million euros to the realisation of Ludwigsburg's large-scale project, which should inspire imitation throughout Germany," says a delighted Bodo Skaletz, Managing Director of SWLB.

"This renewal of the district heating network with solar heat is particularly forward-looking with regard to the feasibility of municipal heat supply with renewable energies. Swapping fossil for renewable - it works. I congratulate Ludwigsburg on this major high-tech piece of the puzzle, also in terms of CO2 savings and improved energy efficiency," confirms Parliamentary State Secretary Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter.

"The 'SolarHeatGrid' is an important building block in the implementation of our overall energy concept for Ludwigsburg," explains Mayor Werner Spec. "We are thus significantly expanding our heat supply on a renewable basis and linking it across municipal boundaries. This is entirely in the spirit of sustainable settlement development: as cities, we must continue to commit ourselves locally with all our strength to environmental and climate protection."

The official start of this lighthouse project is 1 June 2017. The model project is scheduled to take a total of three years. As part of the project, the existing Ludwigsburg district heating network, which already provides heat for large parts of the city using mainly renewable raw materials, will be merged with the Rotbäumlesfeld, Technische Dienste Ludwigsburg (Gänsfußallee 21) and Kornwestheim-Nord networks, which are currently still supplied with fossil fuels. The construction of the solar thermal plant in connection with a large heat storage tank, which is to be built at the location of the CHP plant, will additionally feed high-quality, regeneratively generated heat into the expanded interconnected grid. This will further increase the amount of heat from renewable energies. With the help of the heat storage facility, the energy generated will also be available when there is little or no solar radiation.

The base load heat of the fossil-fuelled heating centres of the individual grids can thus be replaced by the largely regeneratively generated heat of the expanded interconnected grid. Approximately five kilometres of new district heating pipes will be laid over the next three years to connect the solar thermal system and the interconnected grid. In addition to the CO2 savings that will be achieved through the growing share of renewable energies in the expanded district heating network, the declared goal of the large-scale project is to increase energy efficiency. "In order to ensure that energy is used as efficiently as possible, it is not only the heat generation and distribution by SWLB that is decisive, but also the consumer side," Skaletz explains and adds: "As part of the network interconnection, measures are therefore to be implemented to reduce the so-called return temperatures, on which the performance of our district heating network depends to a large extent."

SWLB submitted the funding application in November 2016. The project aims to increase the share of renewable energies in the district heating network and to actively promote local climate protection and the energy transition at the local level by reducing CO2 emissions. More information on the municipal climate protection model project at: www.swlb.de/solar-heat-grid

PM of the Stadtwerke Ludwigsburg-Kornwestheim from 12.05.2017



Keywords:
DE-News, Renewable, Climate protection, News Blog Baden-Württemberg, Solar thermal, Environmental policy, Ecology

Published

DIW on the European Green Deal: regulatory framework more important for industry than subsidies

European Green Deal offers opportunities for investments in emissions-intensive basic industries - Clear political framework must ensure that investments are also economical and are triggered - Introduction of CO2 differential agreements and reform of EU emissions trading essential

The climate-neutral transformation of industry will only succeed if it is profitable for companies. Researchers at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) have used the example of the emissions-intensive basic materials sector to work out what regulatory framework must be created to ensure that the transformation succeeds in a targeted manner. Effective CO2 prices are essential, which can be achieved by supplementing emissions trading with a climate contribution and CO2 differential agreements, for example. In addition, the announcement of a ban on the sale of CO2-intensive raw materials such as steel, cement or plastics would ensure that climate-neutral production processes are also implemented. In addition, the state must show its colours and define binding targets for the share of climate-neutral production in climate protection legislation.

"Economic stimulus packages to rebuild after the Corona crisis offer an opportunity to implement the European Green Deal," says Karsten Neuhoff, study author and head of the Climate Policy Department at DIW Berlin. "However, promoting investment alone is not enough. For companies to actually invest in climate-neutral technologies, clear regulatory frameworks are needed."

"Recovery packages to rebuild after the Corona crisis offer an opportunity to implement the European Green Deal" Karsten Neuhoff

Interaction of different instruments necessary

The DIW researchers cite a reform of the EU emissions trading system as a central issue, with the aim of ensuring that the CO2 costs of conventional raw material production are also reflected in the value chain. This could be achieved, for example, by means of a climate contribution - a levy that would be charged for every tonne of raw material produced or imported.

Accordingly, CO2 differential contracts are an additional effective instrument. They hedge investments in climate-friendly production and recycling processes against the risks of uncertain CO2 prices. "This secures investors a fixed revenue per tonne of CO2 saved and reduces risks and costs in financing," explains study author Jörn Richstein. "In this way, projects can be realized even at significantly lower CO2 prices." Comparable contracts for differences for renewable energies are also effective - they help to ensure that the energy-intensive basic industry can purchase clean electricity at competitive prices.

Ensure that industry implements climate neutral options

In addition, it must be ensured that industry actually implements climate-neutral options: According to study author Franziska Schütze, a sustainable financial system could contribute to this. "Stress tests that examine companies with a view to their climate neutrality would also be effective," says Schütze. In addition to bans on the sale of emissions-intensive raw materials, public tenders based on sustainable criteria would also be essential, as would better conditions for circular economy and recycling processes and the necessary infrastructure.

"A combination of these and other measures would help to achieve the green transformation and thus climate neutrality by 2050," concludes study author Olga Chiappinelli. "Now it's up to policymakers to also initiate these instruments to build confidence in the business community, and to set clear targets for their implementation." To ensure that the necessary measures are implemented in a timely and coordinated manner, targets for the share of CO2-neutral production must be anchored in the German Climate Protection Act and also at the European level.

Source: DIW PM of 11.3.2021



Keywords:
European Green Deal, Climate protection, News Blog Europe (without DE), Environmental policy

Dream team photovoltaics and storage
Published

Dream team photovoltaics and storage

New video from the EnergyAgency.NRW provides tips on the planning, installation and maintenance of battery storage systems


5:28 min - 06/30/2017 posted

Bonn/Düsseldorf. Who doesn't dream of this? To become independent of the electricity supplier and to use all the electricity you produce yourself. A new 5-minute video from the EnergyAgency.NRW introduces homeowner Thomas Koch from Bonn, who has almost fulfilled this dream. With his photovoltaic system on the roof and his battery storage in the cellar, he is up to 90 percent self-sufficient from his energy supplier.

The reason for this is the falling prices for storage technology. With production costs of only around 20 cents per kilowatt hour, it is worth generating and storing electricity yourself and being able to use it at any time - even when the sun is not shining. In fact, every kilowatt hour that does not have to be stored for the evening hours only costs around 11-12 cents to generate.

With its 91 PV modules and matching lithium-ion battery, it is now almost completely self-sufficient in solar power.

The video gives experts a chance to talk about the planning, installation and maintenance of battery storage systems in the home, charging times, guarantees and subsidies, and provides recommendations for action.

The EnergyAgency.NRW website offers more information on funding opportunities, practical application examples and tips at www.energieagentur.nrw/photovoltaik

The film may be embedded free of charge on other websites. Please use the link Video on Youtube
Under the video you will find the embed code under "Share" in the menu item "Embed".

More about photovoltaics:
www.energieagentur.nrw/solarenergie/solarstrom-photovoltaik

More on the topic of electricity storage:
www.energieagentur.nrw/netze/dezentrale_solarstromspeicher

 

Background information:

Now skim off subsidies.

Anyone who submits their subsidy application by the end of September can still benefit from the highest subsidy. This applies to battery storage systems with which the electricity from your own roof can also be used after sunset. Funds are available in the KfW 275" development programme made available. Currently, 16 percent of the eligible costs are covered by a repayment subsidy as part of the loan programme. From October, this will be reduced to 13 per cent; at the turn of the year, the rate will fall to ten per cent. The subsidy will expire at the end of 2018.



Keywords:
100% EEs, Bonn, DE-News, Energy storage, Renewable, Movies, Movies 4 to 10 Min, Funding, Climate protection, News Blog NRW, PV, PlusEnergy house/settlement, Electricity storage, Ecology

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