Stadtwerke Gießen has long been pursuing a successful approach to driving forward the energy transition in the region. The strategy and implementation are arousing great interest among experts from the energy and supply industry - even beyond the borders of the district of Giessen, as an information event last Saturday showed.
The combined heat and power plants (CHP plants) of Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) produce around 40 per cent of the electricity that the company supplies to private customers. The aim is to reach the 50 per cent mark by 2020 - ambitious, but realistic. "We started with the first CHP plant more than 30 years ago and have been consistently expanding it ever since - a strategy that has now clearly demonstrated its strengths," explains Matthias Funk, Head of SWG Heat Supply.
Dr Jürgen Roth, Managing Director of Humus- und Erdenwerk Niddatal-Ilbenstadt in the Wetterau district, wanted to find out more about the successful approach - as did his former fellow students. The Giessen Agricultural Sciences Graduates' Association for Environmental Protection and Rural Development (VAU) combined their student reunion on Saturday 21 June with a trip to the Giessen municipal utility company and the biogas plant in Heuchelheim. "You don't need to look far away to find out how the energy transition can work. There is an excellent example right on our doorstep from which we can learn a lot. That's exactly why we met in Giessen today," emphasised Dr Jürgen Roth.
Energy transition concept with exemplary character
During the information event at SWG, Matthias Funk explained to around 20 participants what is behind the "Giessen energy transition", what experience SWG has gained and what goals they are pursuing up to 2020. The strategy includes the further expansion of the district heating network and the CHP plant park. An additional component: the sensible use of biogas for energy production. Matthias Fink, Head of Process Engineering and Operations at SWG-Wärmeversorgung, presented the concept behind the biogas plants in Großen-Buseck and Heuchelheim to the participants.
For both plants, the focus from the outset was on high efficiency, short access and delivery routes and an optimised mix of biomass with a high proportion of liquid manure. "We worked together with the Technical University of Central Hesse, among others, during the planning phase - a successful collaboration, as the figures show. The biogas plant in Großen-Buseck - in operation since 2011 - is one of the most efficient in the whole of Germany. We are aiming for the same in Heuchelheim," emphasised Matthias Fink.
After a theoretical part, the participants of the information event finally took a look behind the scenes of biogas production - during a visit to the new plant in Heuchelheim. "We all gained a lot of insights today and each of us took away new ideas. It was a worthwhile exchange between experts," explained Dr Ilona Gebauer, Chairwoman of the VAU.