Last Friday, Stadtwerke Gießen presented Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen with 100 copies of the reference book "Ein Stadtwerke stemmt die Energiewende" - compact background knowledge on the current challenges on the energy market.
Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) and Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen (THM) have been working together for a long time. A valuable exchange that both partners formalised around a year ago. The agreed collaboration is intended to pool existing expertise in the fields of energy supply and energy technology. Milestones such as the biogas plants in Großen-Buseck and Heuchelheim prove that this co-operation is successful. In addition to collaborating on such major projects, SWG also regularly offers topics for students' final theses and excursions to its own plants - as was the case on Friday 23 May.
Together with around 20 students, THM Professor Reinhold Altensen visited one of the municipal utilities' most modern combined heat and power (CHP) plants on the grounds of the Ringallee swimming centre. "Today's visit is part of the "Energy Conversion" lecture. It is of course a stroke of luck that we have an ideal practical example right on the doorstep of the THM," said the university lecturer happily. In future, the data from the MHKW will be made available to students online for process calculations and process simulations.
Matthias Funk, Head of SWG Heat Supply, answered the students' questions. The young adults learnt first-hand from the expert what strategy the municipal utilities are pursuing with the expansion of combined heat and power (CHP) and the extension of the district heating network in Giessen. The budding engineers can now look up details on this topic at any time. Matthias Funk brought a gift for the university to the event - 100 copies of the reference book "Ein Stadtwerk stemmt die Energiewende".
Success story in hardback form
"Ein Stadtwerk stemmt die Energiewende" was published by Springer Fachverlag at the end of 2013. The authors: two people who have been at the forefront of the Giessen energy transition for many years - Matthias Funk and SWG company spokeswoman Ina Weller.
"Generally applicable solutions do not help with the current energy supply challenges. We need to take individual and appropriate paths. This also means that the people involved on site need to ask themselves: Which route will lead to the goal in the long term, what is realistic and practicable?" explained Matthias Funk. The book deals with precisely these questions and the "Giessen answers". Among other things, the authors discuss how CHP can be utilised in a sensible and climate-friendly way. This is only possible if the heat produced is also utilised extensively. "It's not for nothing that we have continuously expanded the heating network in Giessen and invested in the infrastructure. Today, this strategy contributes to the fact that we can produce around 40 per cent of the electricity for private households on site," emphasised Matthias Funk.