Müller's car wash park in Schiffenberger Weg has been generating around 80 per cent of its electricity requirements itself for several weeks now. This is thanks to a photovoltaic system developed in cooperation with the Giessen municipal utility company.
Regenerative power generation systems are not only essential to drive forward the energy transition - they also open up great opportunities from a purely economic perspective. Stephan Müller from Müller's car wash park in Giessen recognised this. In the summer, he had a photovoltaic system installed on two roof areas at the Schiffenberger Weg 105 site. The total of 270 modules have an output of 99.9 kilowatts peak and are expected to produce almost 93,000 kilowatt hours of clean green electricity - year after year. "This will enable us to cover around 80 per cent of our needs," says Stephan Müller happily. This means that electricity consumption will fall by the same amount, which will result in significant cost savings. "The investment should pay for itself in a few years," calculates Dennis Adams, Sales Energy Solutions Industrial & Business Customers at Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG). In fact, it was he who sensitised the entrepreneur Stephan Müller to the topic of photovoltaics (PV).
With the support of Stadtwerke
For some time now, Dennis Adams has been systematically analysing his customers' electricity consumption and checking whether and where PV systems pay off. At Müller's car wash, the situation quickly became clear. The structural conditions proved to be ideal due to the flat roofs. But what is even more important: the electricity requirements are ideal for a PV system. "Cars are usually washed in good, sunny weather. It is rare to find such an exact match between electricity consumption and the generation of electrical energy with solar cells," summarises Dennis Adams.
With the findings from his research and a rough cost-benefit calculation, the energy expert approached Stephan Müller. "The suggestion to install a PV system immediately convinced me - financially and, of course, from an environmental perspective," recalls Stephan Müller. Consequently, he commissioned SWG with the planning and construction. "The whole thing went off without a hitch," explains Stephan Müller, adding: "SWG offers companies a genuine all-round carefree package from a single source."
Makers of the energy transition
There are many good reasons why SWG enables its industrial and commercial customers to generate their own electricity. "As a municipal utility firmly rooted in the region, we take responsibility. Also for ensuring that the energy transition makes progress locally. Supporting our customers in using renewable energy is therefore one of our most important tasks," says Matthias Funk, Chief Technical Officer at SWG, explaining the successful approach that has been in place for some time. Because the fact is: In addition to the company Müllers Autowaschpark, the climate also benefits from the new PV system. It saves around 31.4 tonnesof CO2 emissions per year and takes Giessen another step closer to climate neutrality.