Local energy policy

Municipal energy policy refers to the energy policy of cities, municipalities, districts and other municipal bodies.

Definitions

“ Municipal energy management (KEM) is the expression of a stronger socio-political weighting of the goal of energy efficiency by the municipality (municipal parliament and municipal administration). It manifests itself in the definition of goals with regard to the rational use of energy and the avoidance of emissions and in the definition of an administrative organization and procedural organization based on this. Existing energy management tasks must be reassigned to the changed organizational structures and integrated in a meaningful way. "(Baedeker, Renschhausen 2006: 26)

Instruments

Possibilities for municipal energy policy arise in energy generation (power plants, areas for wind energy), energy supply (electrical power, heat), in energetic construction (land-use planning) and a municipal transport policy oriented towards energy policy goals:

• Municipal funding programs for the use of certain forms of energy, such as natural gas or district heating from their own municipal utilities , or in the field of energy efficiency , e.g. B. thermal insulation , are economically favorable for the regional economy, since investments are stimulated and these are mainly made in the region.

• Advisory services for citizens are politically popular because they are particularly effective in the public eye.

• A separate energy industry can be set up via municipal utilities or other forms of organization (e.g. public-private partnership ). Most of the time, municipal utilities are resellers of electricity and natural gas, but they often also have their own power generation plants. East German municipal utilities in particular often operate large thermal power stations and a district heating network . From time to time, municipal utilities use photovoltaic systems, small combined heat and power systems, local heating networks or biomass cogeneration plants .

• Municipal energy policy can also promote the installation of private systems, for example by providing municipal roof areas for photovoltaic use free of charge or at low cost , or inhibiting them, for example when building wind power plants .

• The area of ​​municipal energy management includes activities of municipal bodies to optimize their own energy and resource consumption under economic and ecological aspects. This includes measures to save energy by avoiding unnecessary consumption or increasing efficiency as well as replacing conventional energy sources with regenerative or regional alternatives. For example, it can be worthwhile for wooded communities to use wood from their own forestry as an energy source. Municipalities often cooperate here with local energy suppliers, such as the municipal utilities that are often owned by the municipality.

• Even when drawing up the development plans , the municipal council can impose on the administration whether and, if so, to what extent the promotion of solar technology is taken into account (optimal alignment of the building for passive solar use, roof slopes and designs for photovoltaic systems and hot water collectors).

• Municipal funding for alternative transport (expansion of cycle paths, charging stations for vehicles with electric, fuel cells and hybrid drives, reservation of parking spaces and traffic routes)

There are special municipal design options in energy policy when the municipalities own municipal utilities that operate both public transport bus routes and networks for electricity and heat supply. For example, busses or ferries can be converted to sustainable alternative drives or special offers for improving e-mobility (supply with charging stations) can be introduced through instructions or Supervisory Board resolutions.

Economical advantages

The decentralized expansion of renewable energies generates added value of almost 6.8 billion euros in German cities and communities, according to the Institute for Ecological Economic Research (IÖW). The area-wide and decentralized expansion of renewable energies in Germany is all the more profitable for municipalities, the more plants, operating companies, manufacturers or suppliers are located there. Municipalities of all sizes can generate significant added value by means of decentralized, renewable energies, for example through tax and lease income, company profits and jobs, as well as by saving fossil fuels, according to the IÖW study. The IÖW study for the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment comes to the conclusion that energy from wind, solar or water power creates new jobs locally and generates high additional tax revenue for the municipalities. Even villages with 1,000 souls could benefit considerably. According to this, two thirds of the added value from renewable energies (2012: 25 billion euros) benefit the cities and municipalities and contribute to the development of structurally weak areas. In addition, jobs in renewable energies are spread across the whole of Germany.

Albert Filbert, CEO of HEAG Südhessische Energie AG based in Darmstadt, confirms this trend: "The regions and municipalities are increasingly recognizing the importance of active and far-sighted services of general interest that best correspond to the economic and ecological interests of the community," said Filbert. Increased commitment in the areas of renewable energies and energy efficiency offers the opportunity to participate in economic success, to finance important municipal projects and budget relief, to secure the location, jobs and local added value.

But it is not only large municipal utilities that benefit from the switch to renewable energies, but also rural areas in particular due to the decentralized structure. This is shown by the example of the Rhein-Hunsrück district in Rhineland-Palatinate. "We started with renewable energies in 1999 and since then there has been no stopping us," reports District Administrator Bertram Fleck (CDU). Today 1,500 regenerative energy systems cover almost 60 percent of the electricity demand in the region . "In a few years' time we will be an electricity exporter, generating 14.6 million euros in municipal added value per year," emphasizes Fleck.

Dr. Bernd Hirschl from the Institute for Ecological Economic Research explains that municipal value creation is a decisive factor for economic power in the regions. “In studies, we have shown that renewable energies make double-digit billion contributions nationwide to municipal value creation every year. In view of the expansion targets for renewable energies in Germany, these technologies also offer great potential for positive welfare effects in the communities in the future, especially in rural areas. The new value-added calculator offers an initial orientation for existing systems and specific planning on site. "

A study by DIW Berlin comes to the conclusion that there are no significant differences in efficiency between municipal and private companies.

Examples

A growing number of cities and municipalities such as Feldheim , Dardesheim , Bollewick or Morbach are taking their electricity and heat supply into their own hands. Numerous media reports deal with such municipalities, of which there are more than is generally known. "Instead of centralized supply from large power plants, local solutions are required - the municipalities are increasingly decoupling themselves from the large suppliers," states the Handelsblatt . "Having your own energy supply creates new fields of activity and generates income." The Tagesspiegel tells the story of how the small town of Dardesheim in the Harz foreland became a "place of pilgrimage for friends of renewable energies from all over the world". In a successful east-west cooperation, the people of Dardesheim have succeeded in obtaining 100 percent of their electricity from their own renewable sources - and thereby generate income from which the entire city benefits. In Wendland , full coverage has almost been achieved.

In May 2013, the mayors of 25 German cities published their joint paper "Making the energy transition a success story with strong local authorities". There they describe the structuring possibilities of the municipalities, but at the same time also call on the legislature to create economic and legal framework conditions for a successful energy transition. The mayors see a need for action in the following areas:

• “The local self-government best supports innovative and realistic, regional and decentralized solutions for the energy transition. However, federal and state politicians must ensure that they regularly and consistently strengthen the municipalities in all economic and political framework conditions. "
• “We see the energy transition as a joint effort. That is why we advocate strengthening the vertical networking of the EU, federal government, states, municipalities and regions. "
• “The saving and efficient use of energy as well as the still pending energy turnaround in transport and heat supply must be included in the energy turnaround policy just as intensively as the generation and use of electricity. We have numerous examples of this broad approach in our communities. The federal and state governments are called upon to take up this as well and make it a general requirement for politics. "
• "From a future energy market design we expect a coherent relationship between generation capacities and the expansion and conversion of the networks, system stability, security of supply, increased cost efficiency and compliance with climate protection goals."
• “A clear, reliable program is a prerequisite for investing in the energy transition. This applies to the expansion of renewable energies as well as investments in networks and storage capacities. The federal government should ensure that gas and steam power plants that can be regulated quickly and that can compensate for the fluctuating feed-in of renewable energies are economical. "
• “The extensive participation of citizens and business is an essential prerequisite for the success of the energy transition. Municipalities can make a significant contribution to this. The federal government should involve the municipalities even more in the planning of requirements and in the expansion of the transmission networks. New forms of participation should enable people everywhere and systematically to participate in the financing of the network expansion. "

literature

• H. Baedeker, M. Meyer-Renschhausen: Energy management in small and medium-sized municipalities. Aachen, Shakerverlag 2006, ISBN 3-8322-5236-3 .
• Kathrin Müller: Regional energy transition: Actors and processes in renewable energy regions. Peter Lang Verlag, Frankfurt 2014, ISBN 978-3-631-64913-8 (review)
• Renewable Energy Agency: Annual report "Federal states with new energy". Extracts
• Renewable Energies Agency: Energy from the countryside arrives. PDF
• Christian Held, Christian Theobald, Municipal Economy in the 21st Century - Framework Conditions, Strategies and Implementations, Festschrift for Dr. Peter Becker on his 65th birthday, VWEW Energieverlag, Frankfurt am Main 2006

Web links

• Website "Municipal Renewable" with many practical examples
• "Value added calculator" for municipal energy policy
• General information page with many tips, descriptions and the possibility to download practical work aids, literature, links
• Brochure: Making the energy transition a success story with strong local authorities. (May 2013) (PDF; 3.3 MB)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Study and background information at the German Sustainability Council
2. ↑ Value creation and employment effects through the expansion of renewable energies ( memento of the original from October 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 864 kB), Institute for Ecological Economic Research , 2013 study commissioned by Greenpeace , accessed on October 20, 2013. 
3. ^ Website of the Renewable Energy Agency for Municipal Value Creation through Renewable Energies , accessed on October 20, 2013.
4. ↑ IÖW / AEE press release  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ DIW Berlin: DIW Berlin: Private versus municipal energy suppliers: No general trend towards remunicipalisation and no differences in efficiency. In: www.diw.de. March 1, 2007, accessed June 22, 2016 . 
6. ↑ Energy from biomass - When liquid manure competes with nuclear power from August 15, 2010 in the Handelsblatt website, accessed on October 20, 2013.
7. ↑ Leave the wind turbine in the village , Der Tagesspiegel from August 14, 2010.
8. ↑ Value added calculation for renewable energy in the Lüchow-Dannenberg district (PDF; 419 kB)
9. ↑ Dialog "Sustainable City" ( Memento of the original from October 20, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
10. ↑ Brochure: Making the energy transition a success story with strong local authorities. (May 2013) ( Memento of the original from September 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 3.3 MB)