Web database of sustainable settlements and neighbourhoods

Sector-coupled steel storage for Berlin quarter

Published
Fig.: Lumenion

Berlin, 22 October 2018: Vattenfall Energy Solutions, Gewobag and the energy storage start-up Lumenion are jointly piloting a new type of sector-coupled steel storage system at Bottroper Weg in Berlin-Tegel, which absorbs regional generation peaks from wind and solar energy in a grid-serving manner and later provides the renewable energy as heat and electricity in line with demand.

"With this pilot project, we want to demonstrate the particular technical and economic suitability of thermal storage systems for the effective utilisation of large quantities of wind and solar energy in a very practical way," says Alexander Voigt, founder and Managing Director of Lumenion. "Some of our team have been working with renewable energies for over 30 years and with energy storage systems for over ten years. Based on this experience, we made a conscious decision in favour of steel as a storage medium for the second phase of the energy transition, which is just beginning."

The Lumenion steel storage system stores "electricity peaks" for less than 2 cent/KWh in a cost- and space-efficient manner at up to 650° Celsius as heat, which can be converted back into electricity using a turbine unit if required - or used entirely as heat. As a co-founder of Solon, Q-Cells and Younicos, among others, Voigt has been successfully launching solar modules and storage systems on the market since the 1990s.

Hanno Balzer, Managing Director of Vattenfall Energy Solutions GmbH: "Decentralised systems and energy storage are key factors in the energy transition; heat is a particularly cost-effective form of storage. If the stored energy can then be utilised not only as heat but also in the form of electricity, that is a milestone. The high-temperature storage system brings us a big step closer to this!"

Karsten Mitzinger from Gewobag Energie- und Dienstleistungsgesellschaft adds: "The energy transition can only succeed if it is decentralised and based on partnership. As a housing industry, we are making our contribution to climate protection in our neighbourhoods. With this project, we are pleased to be able to demonstrate the good cooperation between energy supply companies, municipal housing associations and innovative start-ups. Only together can we master the major challenges of the energy transition."

In the Tegler pilot project, a 2.4 megawatt hour (MWh) storage block is being trialled for commercial use and transferred to regular operation. To this end, the unit will be integrated with an existing gas-powered CHP unit from Vattenfall Energy Solutions into the neighbourhood electricity and local heating supply of a 1970s apartment building owned by Gewobag. The storage system will temporarily absorb any power peaks that are not required and feed them into the heat supply later on as needed. In a second step, a reconversion into electricity is also planned.

Parallel to the construction of the pilot project, Lumenion is testing a 450 kWh prototype on the campus of the University of Applied Sciences (HTW) in Oberschöneweide. The HTW is supporting Lumenion with practical accompanying research in the development, testing and validation of data, as well as in the regulation and operational management of the innovative storage system.

In further projects, Lumenion storage systems with 40 MWh and even 1,400 MWh are to be created as the next milestones. These giga-storages can integrate existing and newly added large quantities of renewable electricity generation from wind and solar power into the existing grids in a particularly favourable, efficient and demand-oriented manner, thus enabling a significant acceleration of the energy transition.


Keywords: DE-News, Energy storage, Renewable, Climate protection, News Blog Berlin, PlusEnergy house/settlement, Quarters, Electricity storage

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7th call for tenders for Plus-Energy-Quarters
Published

7th call for tenders for Plus-Energy-Quarters

The tender "City of the Future - On the Way to Plus-Energy Quarters". builds on previous experiences from the research programme specific focal points and R&D services. All actors who deal with research and development issues related to buildings, neighbourhoods and cities and who want to meet the new challenges of digitalisation in the building sector, the realisation of plus-energy neighbourhoods and the development of innovative urban greening technologies can submit proposals.

Within the framework of "City of the Future", the following are available for the 7th call for proposals around € 8.3 million available. The tender runs until 30.01.2020.

The guiding themes of the "City of the Future" are:

  • Sustainable energy system
  • Reduction of climate impact
  • Increasing competitiveness

However, factors such as liveable city, attractive business location or green space design must also be taken into account.

 

The subsidies are divided into 3 Tendering priorities with the following subtopics:

Tender focus 1 - Digital planning, construction and operation

1.1 Digital planning, construction process and operations management
1.2 Digital (construction) data management and data acquisition
1.3 Intelligent technologies and usage scenarios
1.4 Innovation Lab "Digital Planning, Building and Operating

Tender focus 2 - On the way to a Plus-Energy-Quarter


2.1 Technological developments on the way to the Plus Energy Quarter
2.2 System integration and combination on the way to a Plus-Energy-Quarter
2.3 Demonstration buildings and quarters
2.4 Innovation laboratory "Promoting interoperability in the smart energy system".

Tender priority 3 - Innovative urban greening technologies

3.1 Reducing urban heat islands and summer overheating
3.2 Multifunctional Wall, Roof and Facade Systems for Greening
3.3 Application and impact of innovative urban greening technologies

More information:
to the program description and
to the tender guide

 



Keywords:
Procurement, Research, Funding, Climate protection, Communities, News Blog Austria, Planning offices, PlusEnergy house/settlement, Quarters, SDG 2030, Settlements, Housing

Popular initiative for affordable housing in Schleswig-Holstein
Published

Popular initiative for affordable housing in Schleswig-Holstein

The state chairperson of the Sozialverband Deutschland (SoVD), Jutta Kühl, and her deputy, Sven Picker, together with the state chairperson of the Deutscher Mieterbund (DMB), Jochen Kiersch, and the managing director, Carsten Wendt, gave the starting signal for a popular initiative for affordable housing in Schleswig-Holstein at a press conference in the state house on Friday, 16 February. The aim is to anchor the right to affordable and adequate housing in the state constitution. From now on, both associations have one year to collect 20,000 signatures from citizens of Schleswig-Holstein and then hand them over to the president of the state parliament. Once the quorum has been met, the state parliament must address the concerns of the popular initiative.

Specifically, SoVD and DMB request that an article 13a be included in the state constitution. Wording:

Adequate housing
1) Everyone has the right to adequate housing. The Land shall promote the creation and maintenance of affordable housing, in particular through social housing measures, tenant protection and rent subsidies.
2) The eviction of a dwelling may only be enforced if substitute living space is available. When weighing up the interests, the importance of the dwelling for leading a dignified life shall be given special consideration."

The background to the popular initiative is the dramatic situation on the housing market in Schleswig-Holstein. The current stock of affordable housing is far too low. Of the former 220,000 publicly subsidised flats in Schleswig-Holstein, only about 47,000 remained in 2017. Homelessness is rising continuously. Currently, about 10,000 people in our federal state live without shelter - and the trend is rising rapidly.

SoVD and DMB support the inclusion of the state goal of affordable and adequate housing in the state constitution with concrete demands to improve the housing situation in Schleswig-Holstein:

- Additional construction of 8,000 affordable, subsidised flats per year.
- More barrier-free flats for senior citizens and people with disabilities
- Improvements to the so far largely ineffective rent brake
- No vacancy of residential and commercial premises by enacting a regulation on the misappropriation of property
- Promotion of new foundations of municipal housing associations with
Land funds.
Jutta Kühl said at the press conference: "As associations we cannot make laws, let alone enforce them. What we can do, however, is build political pressure. And here a popular initiative is the strongest instrument we have at our disposal. We hope that many people will support us with their signatures. The more signatures we collect, the greater the pressure on those politically responsible to finally act to alleviate the now untenable situation on the housing market."
Sven Picker focused specifically on the housing situation of people with disabilities: "The word inclusion is on everyone's lips at the moment. But when it comes to concrete steps in implementation, there are still great difficulties. This applies both to the labour market and increasingly to the housing market. Wheelchair users in particular have problems finding housing that is tailored to their needs and also affordable for smaller wallets. This urgently needs to be remedied." Jochen Kiersch said, "The problems on the housing market in Schleswig-Holstein are largely homemade. They are the direct result of the sale of municipal housing associations to yield-oriented financial investors, the deliberate reduction of the social housing stock and the far too low level of new construction. There was an obvious lack of foresight on the part of the housing politicians, because the consequences were foreseeable. With the inclusion of the right to adequate housing in the state constitution, housing policy gains a higher priority and this is urgently needed - also as an urgent reminder for more sustainability."
Carsten Wendt emphasised: "In view of the current development on the housing market, it is essential to give the good of adequate and affordable housing constitutional status. The number of affordable flats is rapidly decreasing, whereas the demand for such flats is constantly increasing, not least because of the ever-widening income gap. It is important to make clear how fundamental the need for adequate housing is for every individual".
Source: PM of DMB and SoVD of 16.2.2018



Keywords:
Stakeholders, News Blog Schleswig-Holstein, SDG 2030, Housing policy

Published

"International Day of Forests" on 21 March

The forest - what an achievement!

© Fig.: FNR

Storms, drought and insect infestations have caused a great deal of damage to Germany's forests over the past three years. The "International Day of Forests" on 21 March is a good time to become aware of the many services provided by the forest.

"Rebuilding Forests - A Pathway to Recreation and Well-Being".is the motto of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for this year's "International Day of Forests". The Food and Agriculture Organization is thus drawing attention to two things:

  1. There is a need for action in reforestation. It is not for nothing that this day was also chosen as the starting point of the UN Decade for the Restoration of Ecosystems (2021-2030). The necessary measures vary from region to region. In Germany, storm damage, drought and beetle infestations have recently led to record tree deaths. In some areas, entire forests are drought-stricken. According to the latest forest condition report, only 20 percent of forest trees still have a healthy crown. But reconstruction is in full swing. The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), is supporting reforestation and sustainable forest management with comprehensive financial aid. 277,000 hectares will be reforested over the next few years. Important projects on the broad range of forest issues are supported by the Support programme for renewable raw materials of the BMEL and with the Forest Climate Fund which the BMEL is supporting together with the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).
  2. With eight key messages the FAO shows how human well-being is closely linked to the condition of forests - and not just through climate change.
    For the forest provides us with a cornucopia of Ecosystem services:
  • Living and working space forest: This does not only concern indigenous peoples who live in or with the forest and who are directly affected by the destruction of the forests. Even in an industrialised country like Germany, people live from the forest and its products: More than one million people are employed in the forest and timber economic cluster in this country.
  • Recreational forest: Germany is a forest country with a forest area share of 32 percent. Germans are traditionally said to have a close relationship with the forest. Statistically, this is expressed in over two billion visits to the forest each year. More than two thirds of Germans regularly visit the forest. On average, each visitor spends at least 20 minutes in the "green lungs". Recreation is the number one reason for visiting the forest.
  • Climate protector forest: With climate change, we are reminded of the importance of the carbon storage capacity in the biomass of forests. Through photosynthesis, trees remove the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. In this way, forests counteract climate change. Over 4.5 billion tons of CO2 are bound in the forest. Per hectare, this adds up to the equivalent of 114 tonnes of carbon in our domestic forests.
  • Biodiversity: More than 10,000 animal and plant species live in Germany's forests, making them a hotspot of biological diversity. In our forests there are almost 200 species of trees and shrubs, more than 1,000 herbaceous plant species, almost 700 different mosses and more than 1,000 different species of lichens as well as uncounted species of fungi. And from red deer to the dwarf shrew, 140 different vertebrate species live in Germany's forests.
  • Many other ecosystem services of the forest, such as oxygen production, air cooling and air filtration, usually receive too little attention. Yet forests, water, soil and atmosphere are inextricably linked. The forest body forms the link between the elements: For example, forests have a considerable influence on the atmospheric as well as the soil water cycle with their evaporation rate. They retain surface water with their rough structure and, together with their gigantic root system, provide formidable protection against erosion. In mountain forests, this network even forms the most important avalanche protection. And on top of that, forests are soil builders - at one centimetre in 100 years, it may seem slow to us. On a geological scale, however, it is rapid.

An overview of the Ecosystem services offered by the infographic.

 



Keywords:
DE-News, Wood construction, Climate protection, Environmental policy, Life cycle assessment

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