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A competition to determine the cities that save the most energy
:: 27 June, 2009
A city has countless opportunities to save energy. The mere recognition of this fact is the starting point of the "City high efficiency" initiated by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), who arrives in the final stages. The central question is what technologies and innovative services which enable energy the most important. "We see the city as a comprehensive system that can significantly reduce energy consumption in different ways," says Secretary of State Prof. Frieder Meyer-Krahmer on 7 May 2009 in Hamburg, at the launch of the second phase of the competition. "The competition is an important step for the government's objectives in the fight against climate change. It is a very good example of high-tech strategy, for which the implementation of research and innovation are central" .
During the first phase last year [1], a committee of experts has evaluated more than 70 applications for projects. 15 projects were finally selected to appear in Hamburg. Scientists now get the opportunity to continue developing their concepts. Among the finalists are large cities like Hamburg, medium-sized cities as Landau in the Palatinate and very small towns in Saxony Goda. "All the finalists are distinguished by features clear," according to F. Meyer-Krahmer. "They see the city as a global system and have submitted ideas. Moreover, the concepts are addressed in a sustainable way, present an implementation and can be easily replicated in other municipalities."
A particular aspect of the competition is the link between the provision of services, as a research and technological developments. Thus, the BMBF borrows new avenues of research support. "At the moment, services are still too rarely analyzed as objects of research themselves, in relation to technological developments or issues of specialized research. We want to change this," said Secretary of State. The competition is also a pilot for a new initiative of BMBF, implying a greater incorporation of research services than in other fields of research.
For the second phase of the competition, the BMBF will spend 3 million. Next year, after the end of this phase, between three and five among the 15 projects currently selected will be chosen as winners for the practical implementation.
Content Orientation
The City of habitat as a whole should be considered. The municipal action play in this overall system, for example, a role:
Living
Work
Education
Care (including medical and nursing care)
Culture and Leisure
Traffic and Transport
To the desired significant reduction of energy consumption in the city, you may, at the approaches to be supported to focus on areas of high energy consumption are made.
It should use innovative methods, concepts and models of Planning Sciences (Operations Research) on typical or future urban areas mainly function under energy considerations but also taking into account environmental and social conditions will be developed and used. The following aspects could be of importance:
Comprehensive consideration of the energy system of a municipality
Continuation of networking ideas into energy
Planning and balancing of central versus decentralized energy supply
Planning of urban energy and water and sanitation systems
Mobility (eg traffic control)
Urban lighting concepts and lighting use
Energy usage and acceptability issues in cities compared
Development of methods for prioritization of investments
Accounting of energy flows and emissions
Control of energy supplies: prediction of electricity, peak load times - total urban energy system optimization
Impact of energy crisis on cities: opportunities for local concerns to appropriate energy policy, analysis of responses to energy crises in history, political control of energy issues
Cost-benefit study from the local perspective (eg, inter-communal competitiveness)
Overcome barriers such as financial, structural or legal nature
Design of business processes, the investments for energy efficiency make marketable, including the development of new financial tools and business models (eg, through local financial service providers, the long payback periods, possible)
Concepts for acceptance in the population and for customer integration
Development of innovative services, such as in the dissemination of action on climate change and energy efficiency and to ensure the sustainability
Energy and social development
Ensure the implementation (eg through the involvement of local actors)
Construction and development, community organization of appropriate structures, eg by appropriate services
Transmission and delivery of lessons for other cities
Accounting for success and impact
Quantitative effects and successes of the planned and implemented measures must be made during and at the end of the support phases are accounted for. Due to the diversity of cities and municipalities will not elaborate uniform accounting system for the quantification of the actual state and the effects of an inter-municipal comparison set. The municipality is obliged, however, a close evaluation of performance indicators and an output record to be developed (eg in terms of the achieved CO 2-savings, based on the energy and climate policy
Objectives of the federal government), at the hands of those developing into an energy efficient community, and pursuing it can be assessed.
Release link: http://www.bmbf.de/en/index.php
Tags: savevenergy , technological developments , reduce energy consumption ,
