Electricity storage systems are becoming economical
Published
Photovoltaic systems are already a financially rewarding investment for homeowners today. Coupled with a solar power storage system, the profit will increase even more in the future. This is because storage systems are on the verge of becoming economically viable. This is the result of calculations by the Solar Cluster Baden-Württemberg.
The limit is 1000 euros/kWh
In the last twelve months, the costs for storage batteries for PV systems have fallen by an average of more than 10 %. "In the first quarter of 2017, they were in some cases only around 1150 euros per kWh of storage capacity," says Carsten Tschamber from Solar Cluster. The limit below which the small storage systems bring in more than they cost when used for 20 years is around 1000 euros, assuming a small increase in electricity prices. If you subtract the KfW subsidy, which decreases every six months, the first storage products already reach economic viability with good planning. By the end of the subsidy in 2018, the batteries could become up to 20 % cheaper - a purchase would then be worthwhile for the consumer even without government subsidies.
The cost of solar electricity from new PV systems on residential buildings has now fallen to as low as 8 Ct/kWh - household customers pay more than three times that for grid electricity. That is why it is worthwhile for them to consume as much of it as possible themselves. Solar batteries help to double self-consumption from 30 to 35 to up to 70 %.
Source: Post from 23.5.2017 on www.geb-info.de (no longer online, as of January 2021)
Timber construction can be cheaper than standard construction - At the same time significantly better CO2 balance
MNP Architects Munich, School Wangen
Current comparative calculations based on realized new buildings in timber construction show: Building with wood does not have to be more expensive than the standard construction method. This result is surprising, as it contradicts the common perception that timber construction is more expensive. At the same time, the CO2 balance of timber construction is significantly better; as a result, its CO2 avoidance costs are very favourable, in some cases even negative. An expansion of timber construction would therefore be climate protection at comparatively low cost.
The architect and developer of the Legep construction software, Holger König, has balanced the construction costs and CO2 emissions for the production of five public and private timber buildings and compared them with the results that would have been produced for the same buildings if they had been built in the conventional way. Legep can be used to calculate the manufacturing and life-cycle costs, energy requirements and environmental impact of buildings. In this case, König only looked at manufacturing. For the prices, he used current sirAdos data, which represent the market very realistically. He then went to the trouble that many architects, civil engineers and building owners shy away from: He modeled the buildings with the same area and cubature and the same energy standard, but replaced the wooden components with conventional materials - depending on the building project, solid masonry in brick, sand-lime brick or aerated concrete, or a column-beam supporting structure made of reinforced concrete. He used reinforced concrete for the floor slab, cellar, ceilings and flat roofs, mineral wool or polystyrene for the insulation, and plastic or aluminum frames for the windows. König explains the fact that four out of five buildings in timber construction cost less or the same as in standard construction with the industrial-technical development that many timber construction companies have undergone in recent years. Two of the timber buildings even achieved a negative CO2 balance in the manufacturing phase due to the large amount of renewable raw materials used, which act as carbon stores. In the other three buildings, a slightly higher proportion of non-wooden components, which every timber building also contains, caused the slightly positive CO2 balance.
If one relates the difference in CO2 savings to the difference in construction costs, one obtains the CO2 avoidance costs of timber construction. Negative abatement costs here mean that the builder has saved costs with timber construction compared to standard construction and at the same time protected the climate.
By increasing the proportion of timber construction, more climate protection can be achieved at low or even negative costs, while at the same time strengthening rural areas. The green-red state government in Baden-Württemberg has recognised this and created more favourable framework conditions for the building material in its state building code, which was amended on 1 March (information here). In contrast, some state building codes still contain legal obstacles to building with wood.
The city of Munich also wants to convince more builders to use timber construction: as part of its "Munich Energy Saving Promotion Programme", it has been granting a CO2 bonus for the use of timber and other renewable raw materials in building construction of 30 cents/kg since 2013 (information here).
A high insulation standard with insulating materials made from renewable raw materials is also a contribution to climate protection. The plant raw materials from which the insulating materials were obtained have bound CO2 from the atmosphere, which is now stored in the building material for long periods of time. And finally, heating based on renewable energies also reduces CO2 emissions.
The Agency of Renewable Resources (Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V.). (FNR) funded the determination of LCA baseline data for the Legep programme with funds from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) between 2004 and 2006.
Energiedienst receives production approval for hydrogen from green electricity
Domestic industry will be the first customer
Energiedienst's power-to-gas plant in Grenzach-Wyhlen is allowed to produce emission-free hydrogen from green electricity as of today. Photo: energiedienst.de
Grenzach-Wyhlen, December 5, 2019. Hydrogen production in Grenzach-Wyhlen in Baden-Württemberg (not far from Basel) can start. Energiedienst today received approval for the operation of the power-to-gas plant. All technical verifications and official clarifications have now been fulfilled.
In the state-of-the-art plant, Energiedienst produces hydrogen from self-generated green electricity using electrolysis. The electricity comes from the company's own hydroelectric power plant on the same site. The environmentally friendly hydrogen will initially be used in nearby industry. It is also planned to use it in local public transport. A comprehensive concept also envisages that the waste heat generated during electrolysis will be used to heat a new residential area. By linking electricity, mobility and heat supply in this way - keyword: sector coupling - the plant should help to reduce CO2 emissions and support the energy transition.
A year ago, Energiedienst officially inaugurated the power-to-gas plant together with the State Minister of Economics, Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut (CDU).
The plant has an output of one megawatt. In addition, there is 0.3 megawatts from an affiliated research facility of the ZSW (Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research). The state of Baden-Württemberg has funded this as part of a lighthouse project.
At the end of October, Energiedienst also submitted a concept for hydrogen for consideration in the "Reallabore der Energiewende" ideas competition run by the German Federal Ministry of Economics. The Federal Government attaches a key role to hydrogen, especially for the mobility of the future. The funding commitment from Berlin is still pending.
Company information
The Energiedienst Group is a German-Swiss public limited company with a regional and ecological focus. It generates green electricity from hydropower and sells electricity and gas. Its own grid companies supply customers with electricity. Another focus is on intelligently networked products and services for the decentralised renewable and digital energy world of the future, such as photovoltaic systems, heat pumps, electricity storage systems and e-car sharing.
The Energiedienst Group supplies over 270,000 customers with electricity. It employs just under 1,000 people, including around 50 trainees. The group includes Energiedienst Holding AG, Energiedienst AG, ED Netze GmbH, Messerschmid Energiesysteme GmbH, EnAlpin AG in Valais as well as Tritec AG and winsun AG. Energiedienst Holding AG is an associated company of EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (Karlsruhe).
Together with Ursem Modulaire Bouwsystemen, the DERIX Group is building a hotel made of wooden modules - 9 storeys high, in the middle of Amsterdam. Here, 2,100 m³ of wood will be used, 550 m³ of which is silver fir, with which the visible surfaces of the modules will be finished. The hotel is currently being assembled from 176 wooden modules, which are transported to the construction site completely prefabricated. 12 modules are assembled per day, and the hotel will open at the end of 2017.
Hotel Jakarta is the first energy-neutral hotel in Amsterdam and will feature 200 luxurious hotel rooms and suites, in addition to a wellness centre with swimming pool and gym, a skybar, various restaurants, an espresso bar, underground parking and a tropical garden.
5th Symposium on Citizen Energy & Energy Cooperatives in NRW
Photo: EnergyAgency.NRW
Recklinghausen. Energy in the hands of citizens: This was the topic of the specialist conference on citizen energy & energy cooperatives in North Rhine-Westphalia on Thursday, 6 December, in Recklinghausen. Around 80 stakeholders in community energy met there to exchange experiences and transfer knowledge. The 5th symposium is a cooperation of the Cooperative Association - Association of Regions and the EnergyAgency.NRW.
Marlies Diephaus from the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia kicked off the conference by emphasising the importance of citizen energy companies: "The energy transition is a major challenge that must be shaped in a positive and forward-looking way here in North Rhine-Westphalia. To this end, a reliable framework must be created in which all stakeholders and affected parties can find their place. Last but not least, the financial participation of citizens in various forms also plays a central role. It can contribute to the acceptance of this project of the century.
In the Raiffeisen Year 2018 - the anniversary year of the cooperative idea - around 20 million people in Germany are members of a cooperative. In the field of citizen energy, too, more and more people are discovering this form of joint economic activity. "The global energy turnaround is only possible at all through local action. Here, citizens, organised in citizen energy societies, are both drivers and advocates. This is where co-determination and regional participation happen locally," explained Dr Frank-Michael Baumann, Managing Director of EnergyAgency.NRW.
Dominik Kitzinger, Division Manager at the Association of Cooperatives - Verband der Regionen e. V., emphasised: "In North Rhine-Westphalia, around 100 energy cooperatives are active as operators of generation capacities - from photovoltaic to wind energy plants - as well as around 150 citizen energy companies of other legal forms. Nationwide, more than 41 percent of investments in renewable energy come from civic engagement. If Germany wants to meet its climate targets, it can only do so with this local commitment."
In addition to projects from the areas of photovoltaics, local heating and wind, the focus was also on the mobility transition. Here, the participants agreed that e-mobility must go hand in hand with the energy transition. Citizen energy companies and cooperatives must therefore be strengthened through cooperation and transformation. Cooperatives that already market car sharing, the operation of charging infrastructures and jointly produced electricity were presented as best-practice examples. There are around 40 energy cooperatives active in these areas throughout NRW.
Despite the growing interest in cooperative management, the number of new energy cooperatives founded has declined in recent years. René Groß from the German Cooperative and Raiffeisen Association blames the changed legal framework conditions for this, but also the complex demands on the mostly voluntarily organised civil societies. In this context, the conference participants also debated the controversial effects of legislation at national and European level, such as through the Energy Collection Act and the new EU Directive as well as the Renewable Energies Directive.
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