CTO Assessment - European Commission

LÜCHOW–DANNENBERG
Energy and
climate protection
Contact: Marlene Sieck • Administrative District of Lüchow-Dannenberg
Königsbergerstr. 10 o 29439 Lüchow o Germany • Tel: +49 5841120 445
Fax: +49.5841 129278 • Email: m.sieck@luechow-dannenberg.de
Lüchow-Dannenberg is a district of 51,000
inhabitants, situated in the eastern fringe of
Lower Saxony, North Germany. It is spread
over 1,200 km 2 and has a very low population
density (42 persons per km 2 ). It is located
on the Elbe river which formed the
boundary between West and East Germany
before reunification. Agriculture and forestry
are still important sectors but employment
potential is in decline.
The project which implements the goals of
Agenda 21 locally, and in particular sets the
target of 100% of energy supplied by RES
within 10-15 years from 1999 onwards, using
mainly wind power and biomass.
Main motivations
The growing debate concerning the possible
building of a final nuclear waste disposal in a
small village of the district, as well as the strong
political will to act against the high percentage
of unemployment and against losing its
educated people, encouraged an alternative
solution, such as RES implementation.
A group involved in Agenda 21 initiated a
round table of reflection in 1997 on the topic
“Energy and climate protection” and discussed
this issue.
The project
Since 2001, the various energy potentials have
been identified and conversion scenarios for
2015 have been prepared. The main objective
was set to reach 100% RES. As a precondition
to reach this goal the present energy consumption
level must be reduced by 20%. An
energy conservation competition gives prizes
to the best actions taken each year.
Key facts
of the
project
90% of the electricity demand can be met by
wind and biogas in the region. The main RES
actions include the increase of wind turbines
capacities installed: so far 8 wind turbines
cover a total rated capacity of 4.8 MW, producing
7 million kilowatt-hours electricity
annually. A further 85 wind turbines could be
installed but at the moment there are a lot of
difficulties within the planning procedure due
to nature conservation concerns.
As well, several on-site biogas facilities have
been installed at farms. A central biogas installation
has just been built and is planned to
provide 5000 households with electricity, using
waste products coming from the starch
factory (potato juice and pulp), as well as from
maize, cattle and pig slurry delivered by the
nearby farmers who hold shares. The heat
produced within the installation is used to reduce
by vaporization the fermentation substratum
that is then returned to the farmers
for use as fertilizer, but its volume is significantly
reduced through this process, thereby
decreasing truck traffic. Other actions include,
for instance, the use of wood as fuel, the regions
big forest timber potential suffices to
produce 270,000 MWh heat and 30,000
MWh power annually.
Overall Evaluation
Lüchow-Danneberg contributed to reduce
environmental impacts, as well as to increase
the value added in the region.
The central biogas plant is a significant demonstration
of successful economic biomass use.
At the moment two more central biogas plants
are planned. Because of the very poor budget
situation of the district, which makes it im-
PV Systems have achieved an output of 4,200 kWp
Domestic hot water production ca. 1,900 m 2 in municipal plants and
ca.15,300 m 2 in private plants
District heating: 3,000 m 2
Utility owned wind farm with a 1.5 MW capacity
2 Biogas installations at 130 kW and one at 140 kW
Medium temperature Geothermal with a heat capacity of 6-8 MW
possible to invest in energy saving actions in
public buildings, the district authority has concluded
a contracting arrangement.
The idea of 100% has been implemented in
the district of Lüchow-Dannenberg through
educational and awareness raising activities.
Building upon contacts to universities and
supra-regional research institutes, sustainable
jobs could be created in the energy planning
and management spheres. Lastly, several
schools and kindergardens have installed
photovoltaic units, financed by teachers and
citizens. The planning and construction was
exercised together with pupils, integrating an
important educational and awareness raising
dimension.
Enabling factors
The ideas coming out of the round-table on
“Energy and climate protection”, set up in
1997, were welcomed by the district administration
and the local politicians. The district
assembly passed a resolution to support these
plans. Soon, there was a network of committed
people in the different public and private
sectors of the district enabled success in several
initiatives.
Challenges
A great difficulty is the bad economic situation
in Germany as a whole and in this remote
rural area in particular. The construction of
wind farms proceeds much more slowly than
expected because of complicated planning procedures.
Replication Potential
The clear success of this local community on
its way to sustainability is contributing to
spread the message beyond the district and
will encourage replication especially in rural
areas of the accession countries. Polish contacts
from the partner district to Lüchow-
Dannenberg showed high interest in the energy
activities and participated in several workshops.
An exchange on RES with a delegation
from Latvia took place in 2003.
50 CTO - Showcase