Entrepreneurs in the fight against climate change
Entrepreneurs from the Ortenau region were invited by the business development agency Nectanet to give talks in Achern about their use of renewable energies.
The future has not only long since begun at the Ortenau-based companies Griebl KG, Fischer Group and Uhl KG, but is already well underway. This was demonstrated on Wednesday morning at the Fischer Group’s premises at an event from the “nectanet zero emission” program, organized by the Ortenau business development agency “Nectanet” and the Ortenau district office. In the “Energy and resource efficiency” series, Matthias Griebl spoke on “Wind power on the Hornisgrinde”, Guido K. Eckenwalder on “Using wind power to achieve greater energy and hydrogen self-sufficiency” and Florian Buchta on “PV systems on quarry ponds”. Fabian Delong then presented the support services offered by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector through the Regional Competence Centers for Resource Efficiency (KEFF+).
Tangible consequences
Hans-Peter Fischer as host, Nectanet Managing Director Dominik Fehringer and First State Official Nikolas Stoermer welcomed the guests from local politics and business, Stoermer stated: “The consequences of climate change are already being felt in Ortenau too, we need to take action, the potential for renewable energies in the Ortenau district is huge overall.” The Ortenau district administration office has currently approved 47 wind turbines, which could mathematically supply 50 percent of Ortenau households with electricity. Seven wind turbines are in the approval process and 27 more have been announced. There is even greater potential in photovoltaics and, last but not least, the Upper Rhine Graben offers huge potential for deep geothermal energy capable of providing base load. Matthias Griebl explained how his father Peter built Baden-Württemberg’s first wind farm on the Hornisgrinde in the 1990s, which was the highest wind farm in Europe at the time. The three wind turbines with a hub height of 25 meters and a rotor diameter of 20 to 22 meters generated an annual electricity yield of between 400,000 and 600,000 kilowatt hours, enough power for around 500 people. “In 1997, we even achieved the record yield in Germany’s inland areas, but compared to today’s dimensions, the yield was low,” he informed. In 2010, the Griebl family entered the approval process for a new wind turbine. Griebl described how the process dragged on for five years until all the hurdles had been overcome, from the approval of the SWR, the German Armed Forces and the Federal Network Agency to the safeguarding of capercaillie and nature conservation. As an anecdote, he said: “We had to assure SWR that we would buy a digital radio for all listeners whose reception would be disrupted by the wind turbine. We didn’t have to buy a single one.” The new wind turbine with a hub height of 85 meters and a rotor diameter of 71 meters has been in place since 2015. Its annual yield is six million kilowatt hours, enough electricity for around 6,000 people. Plans are now underway for a second wind turbine with a hub height of 149 meters and a rotor diameter of 115 meters. An annual yield of 15 to 20 million kilowatt hours is expected, enough electricity for 15,000 to 20,000 people. Matthias Griebl is confident that, now that the political wind is blowing strongly in the direction of renewable energies, the second wind turbine can be built in 2025 or 2026. He presented the vision of “Zero Emission Ortenaukreis”. In cooperation with the municipalities of Achern, Bühl, Lauf, Ottersweier, Sasbach, Sasbachwalden and Seebach, eleven further locations would be available along the high road, which would mean green electricity from the region for the region, electricity for up to 250,000 people.
Fischers Ecosystem
Guido K. Eckenwalder, Head of Sales Battery Systems and Fuel Cells, presented the Fischer energy ecosystem, from the current situation and challenges to the measures and goals, and made it clear that the aim is a whole package ranging from increasing independence in energy supply, contributing to environmental protection and reducing the carbon footprint to the company’s own green hydrogen production and the production of technical gases and renewable energy sources. In a vivid presentation, he discussed the installation of photovoltaics on the hall roofs and two planned wind turbines with hub heights of between 172 and 175 meters and a rotor diameter of 172 meters. The expected yield per wind turbine is 10 GWh/a, i.e. one million kilowatt hours per year. “Due to our high energy dependency, we have to take this path in order to become more energy autonomous and also to avoid the lights going out in Fautenbach.” As a result, Fischer would only have to use 11 percent fossil fuels. No less interesting was the third presentation by Florian Buchta on PV systems on quarry ponds. As an aside, it was interesting to note that Hermann Uhl KG plans to commission a photovoltaic system on the Wyhl quarry pond this year. In Wyhl, the construction of a nuclear power plant with two units was abandoned in 1977 after fierce public protests, and the then Minister President Hans Filbinger saw the lights go out in Baden-Württemberg. All three presentations conveyed one thing: The climate problem will certainly not be solved by ideologies and climate glue, but by the ingenuity of energetic engineers and entrepreneurs.
An article by the Mittelbadische Presse / Berthold Gallinat.
https://mittelbadische.de/