Factor | City of Emden (wind energy) | City of Soltau (bioenergy) |
---|---|---|
Area, inhabitants | 112 km2, 51,292 (12/2009) | 203 km2, 21,856 (06/2008) |
Grid operator(s) | 1. Public utility (Stadtwerke Emden); 2. Public port authority (N-Ports); and 3. Private regional utility (EWE NETZ) | Only public utility (Stadtwerke Soltau) |
Centralized electricity generation | 1 Gas power plant and 1 biomass power plant (wood leftovers) | 16 Wind turbines |
Decentralized electricity generation (installed capacity) | 75 Wind turbines (approximately 143 MW installed/approved); 120 photovoltaic facilities (approximately 1 MW); 1 sewer-gas plant Produce, together with central biomass plant, is ca. 100% of electricity consumption in Emden | 11 Biogas plants (approximately 10 MW); fossil combined heat and power plant; photovoltaic facilities Produce is 85% of consumed power in grid area of which 68% are from biogas plants |
Origin/pioneers | Long tradition: • Erection of first wind turbine for pumping water in the 1980s • City passed formal regulation relatively early (ROP, FNP 1994) and commissions public utility with installing first turbine | Initiative of agricultural actors in the mid-1990s: • Formation of a biogas working group • Erection of first plants close to farms |