A great success for the SV in Pfaffenhofen

From 11 to 13 September 2024, the city of Pfaffenhofen hosted an international delegation as part of the EU project LEEWAY, which is funded by the Interreg Europe programme. 50 participants from Italy, Croatia, Poland, Belgium, Germany and the newly added partner country as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina took part in the three-day event.

At times, delegations from Hungary and Costa Rica were also present as guests to learn about and exchange information on the developments and potential of energy communities. The Hungarian delegation, consisting of several mayors, comprised 20 people. They mainly wanted to find out more about the topic of community energy. Carlos Hidalgo, mayor of the municipality of Turrialba, with which Pfaffenhofen has a sustainability partnership, took part from Costa Rica.

In their speeches, Mayor Thomas Herker and Andreas Herschmann, Head of Sustainability, Energy and Climate Protection, emphasised the importance of cooperation and knowledge sharing at European level in order to drive forward climate protection and actively shape the energy transition.

In addition to a series of specialist lectures, the study visit also included excursions to projects in the Pfaffenhofen urban area. The participants summarised their findings in a concluding workshop.

Central contents of the conference
One focus of the event was the presentation of the city of Pfaffenhofen's climate protection concept Klimaschutzkonzepts. Various projects that contribute to achieving the climate targets were presented and were very well received by the guests.

A presentation by Krisztina André, Director of the EUROSOLAR European Association for Renewable Energy EUROSOLAR Europäischen Vereinigung für Erneuerbare Energien EUROSOLAR introduced the legal framework for energy communities in Germany and stimulated a lively discussion about transferability to other European countries.

Of particular interest was the contribution to value creation through renewable energies in Pfaffenhofen by Dr Helmut Muthig from the Energy and Solar Association together with Leeway project manager Caroline Brinck from the city administration. The advantages of switching from fossil fuels to renewable energies were illustrated: If the strategies outlined are consistently pursued in the district of Pfaffenhofen, a capital outflow of around €275 million can be avoided and additional added value (income, profits, taxes) in the amount of €35 million can be created for the region.

The Pfaffenhofen citizens' energy cooperative Bürgerenergiegenossenschaft Pfaffenhofen  also highlighted the challenges and solutions for securing land for wind power.

Practice-oriented excursions
In addition to the presentations, the programme included excursions to showcase projects. One highlight was a visit to the office building of Eichenseher Ingenieure GmbH. The office building is a good example of energy efficiency because it not only covers its entire energy requirements for heating, electricity and mobility itself, but also uses innovative technologies such as ice storage and individualised photovoltaics. Two other projects were also presented during the Study Visit Tour. Stadtwerke Pfaffenhofen's ‘tenant electricity model’ and WoGeno's ‘electricity model’, in which the residents of the respective buildings or projects can obtain their electricity directly from the roofs of their buildings.

Stations on the excursions included:

• Stadtwerke's tenant electricity model  Mieterstrommodell der Stadtwerke, presented by Annika Häßler, Project Manager for Power Generation and Climate Accounting.
• Board member Markus Käser presented the energy efficiency of the building of the Housing co-operative e. G.  Wohnungsbau-Genossenschaft e. G..
• Dr Holger Klos from the citizens' energy cooperative BEG explained the Pfaffenhofen wastewater treatment plant, where a power-to-gas research station ORBIT2  Wohnungsbau-Genossenschaft e. G. is currently being built to produce hydrogen using electrolysis.
• The Doimerhof in Pfaffenhofen Doimerhof in Pfaffenhofen, with a biogas plant that converts organic materials such as clover grass and manure into biogas and uses it to generate electricity and heat. The farm promotes sustainability through a closed ecological cycle and is a member of the Soil Alliance.
• The Lustholz wind turbine of the citizens' energy cooperative Windrad Lustholz der Bürgerenergiegenossenschaft, which is an example of successful citizen participation in the field of wind power, was presented by Andreas Herschmann, CEO of BEG. Herschmann emphasised the importance of generating energy from wind power in order to be able to cover 100% of future electricity requirements from renewable sources.

Final workshops and outlook
At the end of the three-day study visit, workshops were held in which the delegates summarised their personal findings.