The BMWi is funding energy transition real laboratories with up to 100 million euros per year. The competition focuses primarily on energy-optimised neighbourhoods as real laboratories. Project ideas can be submitted as of now.
Concepts can be submitted until 05 April 2019. You can find further information on energyresearch.com
Schleiden-Gemünd / Nettersheim, 05.04.2019. Experiencing the starry sky at night with twinkling celestial bodies is a special experience for many people that is now only possible in a few places in Germany - one of these places is the Eifel National Park. Since 2010, a regional initiative has been successfully campaigning for the protection of the night sky and the preservation of the natural night landscape - in 2014, this was followed by the provisional designation as the first "International Dark Sky Park" in Germany. Now this initiative can look forward to the final recognition as International Star Park Eifel National Park. On the grounds of the observatory of the astronomy workshop "Stars without Borders" in the Eifel National Park, Dr. Andreas Hänel, highest representative of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) in Germany, presented the certificate of recognition to Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser and the head of the Eifel National Park Administration Dr. Michael Röös. The distinction of being a protected area of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) is a title that only a few regions worldwide can use to promote themselves, in Germany there are only four. For the Eifel National Park, which turned 15 this year, this recognition is a nice "birthday present".
The Eifel National Park is a refuge of undisturbed night skies and has been recognised as a star park since 2014. "Rarely does a topic offer so many win-win situations," said Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser when handing over the certificate. She emphasised the many benefits of protecting the starry night sky: "Dark nights have a positive effect on health, conserve resources and thus help to protect the climate. Darkness is important for many nocturnal animal species, especially insects. Artificial light at night can be a serious threat to them." For North Rhine-Westphalia, he said, the final recognition of the Eifel National Park as the only star park in the entire western half of Germany was an outstanding honour. "The final recognition of the Eifel National Park as a star park helps to raise the profile of our state as a nature destination as well," the state environment minister summed up.
The initiative goes back to the astronomer and lighting consultant Harald Bardenhagen from Cologne, who managed to convince the region of the value of the starry sky. Initially, Bardenhagen found enthusiastic comrades-in-arms in the administration of the Eifel National Park, the district administration of Euskirchen, the national park towns of Schleiden and Heimbach, and those responsible for the Vogelsang property. However, until the final recognition as a Dark Sky Park, further efforts on different levels were necessary: In the design of the outdoor lighting to reduce the artificial light in the National Park and the directly surrounding villages or in the development of tourist offers for stargazing for the general public. The North Eifel Nature Park, in which the Eifel National Park is embedded, has also been intensively involved in this process.
Dr. Michael Röös, Head of the Eifel National Park Authority, thanked Mr. Bardenhagen for his unprecedented commitment against light pollution and his dedication to protecting the night sky and making it possible to experience it. "With the final recognition of the Eifel National Park as an International Star Park, we have reached an important milestone with the region and at the same time taken a pioneering role in the protection of darkness in North Rhine-Westphalia."
"Together we will significantly expand this unique selling point", Manfred Poth, Chairman of the North Eifel Nature Park, was pleased to say. With the innovative project application "Under the Tent of Stars - Eifel by Night", the nature park was able to prevail in the "Nature Park Competition.2021.NRW" of the NRW Ministry of the Environment and, for the first time in its history, took first place. "With the associated 400,000 euros in funding, the protection of darkness through public relations work, through educational offers of sustainable development and tourist infrastructure projects in the Eifel will experience a significant further development," explained Poth. More than 40 project partners, including the Eifel National Park Authority, want to participate in the realisation.
Left:
www.nationalpark-eifel.de/de/nationalpark-erleben/sternenpark/
Source: PM Nationalpark Eifel.de from 5.4.2019
Keywords:
Awards, Procurement, DE-News, Artificial light, Near-natural open space design, News Blog NRW, Social / Culture, Transition Town, Wildlife/animal friendly construction, Aesthetics / Architecture / Building Culture, Ecology
Has Federal Building Minister Barbara Hendricks (SPD) raised expectations with the Alliance for Affordable Housing and Building that ultimately cannot be fulfilled? The Bündnis 90/ Die Grünen parliamentary group in the Bundestag is investigating her doubts about the meaningfulness and effectiveness of the alliance in a question. And they want to know: How and when will the alliance be continued?
Read the full article from 2 January 2017: www.immobilien-zeitung.de/...gruene-zweifeln-am-sinn-des-buendnisses-fuer-bezahlbares-wohnen
Keywords:
DE-News, Affordable housing, Housing policy
Frankfurt/Munich 08/08/2017: The Thüga Group's project phase to explore electricity-to-gas storage technology has been successfully completed. "Reversible storage systems are an important component of the energy transition. The technology enables surplus wind or solar power to be utilised in the best possible way. We were able to clearly demonstrate that the joint system has passed all load tests in the past three years of practical operation. The technology has provided many insights for further utilisation," said a delighted Dr Constantin H. Alsheimer, CEO of Mainova AG. When the plant was commissioned on Mainova's premises in Frankfurt in 2014, it was the world's first demonstration plant to convert electricity into hydrogen and feed it into the municipal gas distribution network. The aim of electricity-to-gas or power-to-gas technologies is to convert surplus electricity from renewable sources into gas for use in the heating, mobility or power generation market.
In the project, 13 Thüga Group companies pooled their expertise and jointly invested in the development of electricity-to-gas storage technology. The focus was on testing its suitability for practical use. From the project partners' point of view, the electricity-to-gas technology has proven that it fulfils the necessary requirements for practical use. During live operation, the system was interconnected with wind and solar plants, a combined heat and power plant (CHP) and electricity consumption using computer simulation in a virtual smart grid. According to the project partners, the technology has thus also proven itself as a component of intelligent grid structures.
"The system has exceeded our expectations, particularly in terms of efficiency. In its relevant load range between 50 and around 325 kilowatts, the entire system - from electricity extraction to gas feed-in - achieves an efficiency of up to 77 per cent, based on the calorific value," emphasises Michael Riechel, Chairman of the Management Board of Thüga Aktiengesellschaft. "We were also able to prove that electricity-to-gas technology is also suitable in principle for use in the primary control energy market. The great commitment of our colleagues at Mainova played a decisive role in enabling us to achieve these results." More than 1,300 visitors have seen the advantages of electricity-to-gas technology for themselves over the past few months.
From the project partners' point of view, the following economic and energy-related reasons speak in favour of a smart combination of SzG technology and gas distribution grids:
The project partners feel confirmed in their view by the latest study by management consultants enervis. This has analysed various paths to sector coupling, i.e. the networking of electricity and heat by 2050. The study focussed on the topics of costs and security of supply. Two key findings are that, firstly, natural gas is the most cost-efficient CO2avoidance option for heat and, by 2050 and beyond, a cost-effective CO2-energy source for backup power plants. And secondly, that a decarbonised world with a conversion from electricity to gas can be economically more favourable than a world without gas.
"Anyone who fails to take SzG technology into account as part of the decarbonisation of electricity generation, the heating market and the mobility market is blocking the future of what is currently the most promising long-term storage solution and hindering the energy transition," emphasises Mainova CEO Dr Constantin H. Alsheimer. In the opinion of the 13 project partners, the new German government is called upon to present a coherent concept for the development of SzG technology. In concrete terms, the focus is on three points: For market implementation, politicians should launch targeted funding programmes with the aim of reducing costs and further increasing efficiency. Furthermore, a joint network development plan for the network infrastructures (electricity/gas) should be created and an integrated cost analysis of the overall system should be carried out. "Hydrogen and methane from renewable energies must be recognised as biofuels, which will open up additional sales channels for operators," says Michael Riechel, formulating the third demand.
Source: PM Thüga Aktiengesellschaft
Keywords:
Stakeholders, DE-News, Energy storage, Renewable, Research, Climate protection, Mobility, Environmental policy, Ecology
1:32 min., video from 15.01.2021
Keywords:
DE-News, Movies, Movies < 4 Min, Wood construction, Environmental policy, Certification & Labels
