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Ecological handprint

Published 3 December 2015

In addition to the well-known ecological footprint, which describes the use of biocapacity by the population (in Germany about 2.5 times the available area), an attempt is currently being made with funds from the Ministry of Education and Research to develop an ecological handprint for positive sustainability effects.

This should enable consumers to orient themselves towards sustainable consumption. The Wuppertal CSCP, a spin-off of the Wuppertal Climate Institute, was commissioned. Three universities are involved: Kassel, Witten Herdecke and Lüneburg. On 5.11.2015 the kick-off workshop took place in Berlin. In June 2016 there was a stakeholder workshop and on 22/23.9.2016 the 3rd workshop will take place in Lüneburg.

In addition to construction, the project is about food and consumer goods. Various players from the economy were invited to the specialist conference.

Further information:
www.handabdruck.org

Keywords: Procurement, DE-News, Certification & Labels

Published 13 January 2020

ROBIN WOOD presents Green Electricity Report 2020

ROBIN WOOD has scrutinized the green electricity offers of 1,200 providers and publishes the results today in the "ROBIN WOOD Eco-Electricity Report 2020.". The environmental organization rates eight offers as recommendable. The current research report was realized with the support of the Open Knowledge Foundation Germany.

The beginning of the year is a good opportunity to switch to a green electricity provider and thus contribute to climate protection. But watch out! Not all offers that are advertised as green and eco actually have a benefit for the climate and the environment. The ROBIN WOOD Eco-Electricity Report helps consumers to orient themselves in the confusing market and to make an informed decision.

"Anyone who believes that they are supporting the energy transition by buying so-called green electricity is mistaken. Many offers come from companies that operate coal and nuclear power plants themselves or sell their electricity. It is therefore all the more important to take a close look at who the green electricity comes from," emphasizes Ronja Heise, ROBIN WOOD energy consultant.

For the Report 2020, ROBIN WOOD conducted extensive research on the websites of the providers in the second half of 2019 as well as a survey by means of a questionnaire. The results are therefore mainly based on information provided by the electricity suppliers.

ROBIN WOOD has checked according to the following criteria: The providers sell electricity exclusively from renewable energy sources; they are independent - in terms of ownership and also in their electricity purchasing - from the coal and nuclear industries, and they additionally promote the energy transition by purchasing electricity from new plants or through fixed investment programs. Eight nationwide providers succeed in this - namely: Bürgerwerke - Energie in Gemeinschaft, EWS - Elektrizitätswerke Schönau, Greenpeace Energy, Grün.Power, Mann Strom, Naturstrom, Ökostrom Plus and Polarstern.

With its green electricity criteria, the ROBIN WOOD report goes further than the best-known green electricity labels, in which economic ties play only a subordinate role in the assessment.

For example, a tariff from the provider NaturEnergiePlus Deutschland has been awarded the "Green Electricity" label, even though the provider is wholly owned by the energy company EnBW. EnBW operates both nuclear and coal-fired power plants. The situation is similar at Energiewerke Waldbröl, which carries the "OK Power" label. The company is 51 percent owned by Aachener Stadtwerke (STAWAG), which has stakes in coal-fired power plants.

"It is an outrage when the money of green electricity customers ends up directly or indirectly with coal and nuclear companies. More transparency and access to the relevant data is needed here. The ROBIN WOOD Eco-Electricity Report 2020 succeeds in bringing light into the darkness", says Maximilian Voigt from the Open Knowledge Foundation Germany.

The Green Electricity Report 2020 can be found free of charge online at www.robinwood.de/oekostromreport-2020.

It contains detailed descriptions of the recommended providers as well as a search function that can be used to call up the ratings of all the nationwide and regional providers examined. These results are supplemented by background information on the green electricity market and on switching electricity providers.

A printed version can be ordered from the ROBIN WOOD office from February 2020: info@robinwood.de

Keywords:
100% EEs, Procurement, Blogs & Portals, DE-News, Renewable, Climate protection, Tenant electricity, Sustainable management, New books and studies, PV, PlusEnergy house/settlement, Tools, Certification & Labels, Life cycle assessment

Published 19 September 2016

EPS/XPS - From October 2016 it will be expensive

uba-broschuere-waermedaemmverbundsysteme 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 meters 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. For a long time, HBCD was the economically most important flame retardant for polystyrene insulation materials - accordingly, there are still transitional rules for insulation materials made of expanded or extruded polystyrene (EPS/XPS).

While the industry in Germany has largely replaced HBCD with allegedly less problematic flame retardants since the end of 2014, homeowners in Germany are now threatened with considerable costs when converting their buildings and removing insulation materials containing HBCD: This is because these will be classified as "hazardous waste" from October 2016 and can only be disposed of at great expense in special waste incineration plants or plants specially approved for this purpose. According to estimates by the Federal Environment Agency, "considerable disposal costs" are to be expected for homeowners.

How can a consumer tell if a polystyrene insulation material contains HBCD?

Since HBCD has already been identified as a substance of very high concern under the REACH Regulation since 2008, the manufacturer and also the distributor must provide information on the use of the substance in all articles. An online form from the Federal Environment Agency can be used to ask the manufacturer, dealer or importer whether HBCD has been used as a flame retardant. In addition, since 2011, the Construction Products Regulation has also required the information to be provided to end users with the declaration of performance for the CE mark. However, for all polystyrene insulation boards used in the past, it must be assumed that they contain HBCD.

In the brochure "Frequently asked questions and answers on hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) - Answers to frequently asked questions".
of the Federal Environment Agency of July 2016 provides further explanations: www.umweltbundesamt.de/...oekologische-kriterien-fuer

Keywords:
Building Biology, DE-News, New books and studies, Thermal insulation

Fraunhofer-Studie: PV und Onshore-Wind sind günstigste Technologien in Deutschland

Published 26. March 2018

Fraunhofer study: PV and onshore wind are the cheapest technologies in Germany

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE presented the fourth edition of their study on the cost price of electricity from renewable sources on March 20, 2018. In it, they analyze current costs and forecast further developments based on technology-specific learning rates and market scenarios up to the year 2035. "The cost forecasts of the previous studies have been confirmed.

The cost price of electricity from renewable energies is falling continuously and is no longer an obstacle to CO₂-free electricity generation. Newly constructed photovoltaic plants and onshore wind turbines at favourable locations are already cheaper than fossil-fuel power plants, and this trend will increase significantly by 2035," says project manager Dr Christoph Kost.

The ever-improving competitive position of renewables is leading to new applications and rapidly growing markets that are no longer dependent on subsidies. On the other hand, the full-load hours of conventional power plants continue to decline due to a higher share of renewables, which drives up their costs. In addition, fuel and CO₂-certificate prices. "It can be assumed that not necessarily the cheapest conventional form of generation will exist on the market to complement the fluctuating renewables, but the one that can show a high flexibility in terms of start-up and shut-down variability, i.e. preferably power plants based on natural gas", says Dr. Christoph Kost.

Currently, PV systems achieve electricity production costs of between 3.71 and 11.54 € cents/kWh, depending on the system type and global radiation - which in Germany is between 950 and 1,300 kWh/(m²a). The specific system costs are between €600 and €1,400/kWp, depending on the system type.

From 2030 onwards, the LCOE for PV systems will fall below 4.7 cents/kWh for

rooftop systems or 2.41 € cents/kWh for ground-mounted systems. The specific system costs will fall to between €350 and €815/kWp by 2035.