Redeveloping an urban district represents not just an architectural challenge - the tenants behind the facades must also be taken into account. Those involved in the "Weingarten 2020" research project are aiming to meet both demands. With the involvement of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, they have created the first passive high-rise building in a district of Freiburg. A further important milestone was the optimisation of the energy supplies.  more...

The Bavarian municipality of Ismaning is generating increasingly more electricity and heat from local energy sources. During the next few days, pump and injection tests will begin on the new geothermal plant that will continue for several months. At a depth of around 2000 metres, the two wells are extracting more hot water than was originally assumed. The trial operation of the geothermal heat supply can therefore begin.  more...

At the Annual Conference of the Renewable Energy Research Association (FVEE) on 16 and 17 October 2012, scientists and industrial representatives presented innovations along with new strategies for their market introduction. In his opening speech, Federal Environment Minister Peter Altmaier emphasised that greater importance should be given to research and development in regard to the era of energy revolution.  more...

The Unterhaching geothermal plant, one of the most successful geothermal projects in Germany, is celebrating its 10th anniversary on 20 October with an Open Day. The plant feeds heat into a district heating network and the remaining heat is used to generate electricity. For this purpose a special power plant process is utilised, the Kalina process. In the BINE Interview, Managing Director Wolfgang Geisinger talks about his decade of experience with the plant, technology and components as well as about the local heating market.  more...

The economic and ecological success of many CHP plants, district heating networks and large-scale solar power systems very much depends on the utilisation of heat outside of the heating periods. An increasingly interesting market for low-temperature heat is cooling and air-conditioning buildings as well as generating process cooling energy with thermally driven chillers. Scientists from Berlin and Bavaria have developed a new generation of particularly compact, efficient absorption chillers with small capacities for cooling and heating operations.  more...

Germany's largest solar thermal system, "Hirtenwiesen II", was inaugurated in Crailsheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In addition to 260 accommodation units, the solar local heating supply system also supplies a school and a sports hall. The collector surface area is around 7,400 m² and includes one borehole heat exchanger heat storage tank and two buffer storage tanks. The German Federal Ministry for the Environment was one of the sponsors of the showcase project.  more...

In future, electricity grids will have to transport large quantities of electricity from renewable energy sources fed centrally and decentrally. Plus, we need greater reserves, storage facilities and flexibility in the electricity market due to the fluctuating supply. In the "Modellstadt Mannheim" project, a virtual energy marketplace is being developed for energy generators, consumers and grid operators. Customers can see the source and price of their electricity and influence them directly via the timing and extent of their consumption and the delivery from their own generation systems. This approach also includes gas, water and district heating.  more...

The residents of the Olympic Park housing estate are also supplied with solar thermal heat for space and domestic water heating in winter. This is ensured by a seasonal hot water storage tank in combination with a heat pump. With a capacity of 5.7 million litres, the underground bunker is large enough to almost fill three average-sized public swimming pools. With their heating concept, the researchers at the Bavarian Centre for Applied Energy Research achieved a return temperature of just 30 °C in the local heating network.  more...

There are already more than 100 regions and many rural communities that are promoting sustainable development based on renewable energies. After developing individual concepts and strategies, the lengthy and often very complex implementation begins. A research project organised by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment has been supporting these regions in conceptual and technical terms since 2007. This project is being conducted by the deENet competence network and the University of Kassel, and is being advised by the German Federal Environment Agency. In a second project phase, it is planned to create a national network by 2013.  more...

Approximately 50% of the global population lives in cities. In 2020, this figure will be more than 60%. The success of climate protections is, therefore, dependent on energy consumption and pollutant emissions in our cities and conurbations. Local councils can specify important framework conditions for implementing energy efficiency measures.  more...