Newsletter/ nawaros^® 01/03

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Content

Heat and Energy for the Alps - The Company KW-Energietechnik Counts on Vegetable Oil
Heating with Biomass
Exhibition at the Technical College of Weihenstephan
C.A.R.M.E.N. at the BioFach fair
Japanese Scientist Visiting C.A.R.M.E.N.
Meeting of Operators
Novel Packagings
New EU Directive
Expert Discussions
News from the Competence, Centre Death of Dr. Wolfram Münzer
New Head of the Technology and Support Centre
Regenerative Energies
Innovative Processes
Multimedial Learning
Please Note!

Heat and Energy for the Alps - The Company KW-Energietechnik Counts on Vegetable Oil

The company KW-Energietechnik was founded in autumn 1995 by Konrad Weigel. It has specialised in the development and the production of small vegetable oil-fired district heating stations. Weigel acquired his basic knowledge during a 15-year activity in the development of engines for the company Elsbett Konstruktions GmbH.
During the first three years, the factory foreman Weigel himself was his only employee. Today, three further employees deal with the construction, installation, and maintenance of the plants. More than 100 district heating power stations have been produced and set up so far. More than 80 per cent of them are powered by natural plant oil. In the alpine region, this plant oil technology for the eco-friendly generation of electricity and heat is very popular. Here, the safe transportability and storability is especially important. Since 2001 funding has been made available for the environmentally compatible alteration of alpine huts through the "Alpine Huts Programme" of the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) ('Federal German Environmental Foundation'). So the popular request for an ecologically sensitive management of alpine huts and refuges is met.

Meanwhile, the facilities of KW-Energietechnik have proved successful in many alpine huts, e.g. in the Coburger Hütte close to Erwald, the Stüdlhütte and the Glorer Hütte close to Kals at the Großglockner, the Kaiserjochhaus, the Sudetendeutsche Hütte, and the Riemannhaus. The Watzmannhaus, the Kärlingerhaus, the Nördlinger Hütte, the Ingolstädter Hütte, the Straubinger Haus, and the Erzherzog-Johann-Hütte will soon be supplied with energy from plant oil, too. Companies, private persons, and the church also take an interest in this eco-friendly technology. The energy supply of the monastery Benediktbeuern in the Bavarian Alpine foothills was redesigned under the motto "Six Lucky Strikes for Sustainability".

Six regenerative energy sources are used. The vegetable oil-fired district heating station with an electric output of 20 kW covers approximately 25 per cent of the annual power requirement. A wood chip-fired boiler, a solar waste water facility, two air/water heat pumps, two hydro-electric power stations, and a photovoltaic facility produce further energy. This redesign was funded by the Free State of Bavaria, the DBU, and e.on Energy AG. "Our target is to use a hundred per cent of vegetable oil for our district heating stations," 45-year-old Weigel says. He does not only rely on the "future power resource" but also on his employees and his three sons.

Information: KW-Energietechnik, Konrad Weigel, Hauptstraße 33, Sulzkirchen, D-92342 Freystadt, tel.: +49-9179-5880, fax: +49-9179-90562, e-mail: info@kw-energietechnik.de (http://www.kw-energietechnik.de).

Heating with Biomass

The Bavarian Minister of Agriculture Josef Miller put a new biomass heating station into operation in Bad Endorf, in the rural district of Rosenheim in Bavaria, on December 16th, 2002. The thermal bath, the Simssee Hospital, the primary school, the town hall, a timber yard, the sanatorium, a new housing estate, and further commercial and industrial buildings and private houses can now be supplied with environment-friendly heat.

A boiler with an output of 2,000 kW annually combusts 2,500 tons of natural forest wood and wood refuse from the region. The plant, which costs 3.5 million euros, is funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Agriculture with about 1.1 million euros. The city of Monheim in the rural district of Donau-Ries also counts on renewable resources for its heat supply. On January 8th, 2003, Miller inaugurated a new biomass heating station there. The plant supplies a school and a gymnasium, an indoor swimming pool and the municipal multi-purpose hall with eco-friendly heat.

The core is a biomass-fuelled boiler with an output of 500 kW. It is fired with 520 tons of natural forest wood and wood refuse per year. The plant, which costs 640,000 euros, is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture with about 184,500 euros.

Information: C.A.R.M.E.N., Dr. Ruth Brökeland, e-mail: rb@carmen-ev.de (see also nawaros® 09/2002).

Exhibition at the Technical College of Weihenstephan

From 9th to 13th December, 2002, the C.A.R.M.E.N. exhibition on the utilisation of renewable resources was to be seen in Weihenstephan, the "green centre" of Bavaria. In the new teaching rooms of the technical college, products made from renewable resources were shown. Posters and brochures completed the presentation, which was crowded by students of the Department of Agriculture and Food Industry during their breaks. Students of other departments of the college and of the university as well as numerous employees of Weihenstephan also seized the opportunity to get information on the "Utilisation of Renewable Resources".

Lectures on this subject have been offered at the Department of Agriculture and Food Industry of the technical college of Weihenstephan for several years. On the opening event, Edmund Langer, deputy executive secretary of C.A.R.M.E.N., and exhibition attendant Walter Wallrapp filled the mainly young audience with enthusiasm for the use of renewable resources. Several professors, the dean of the department, and the chancellor of the technical college of Weihenstephan also attended the opening of the exhibition. In the course of a complex and intensive discussion they answered numerous further questions on the subject of renewable resources.

Further information: C.A.R.M.E.N., Walter Wallrapp, e-mail: contact@carmen-ev.de, and Prof. Josef Eckl, technical college of Weihenstephan, tel.: +49-8161-714319, e-mail: josef.eckl@fh-weihenstephan.de

C.A.R.M.E.N. at the BioFach fair

The world fair for bioproducts, "BioFach 2003", will be taking place in Nuremberg from 13th to 16th February, 2003. On the occasion of the fair, the symposium "Advanced Bioplastics 2003" of the IBAW (Interessengemeinschaft für Biologisch Abbaubare Werkstoffe) (i.e. 'Community of Interests for Biodegradable Engineering Materials') takes place from 12th to 13th February, 2003. Taking part in the event as a co-organiser, C.A.R.M.E.N. will mainly show products from starch and biodegradable engineering materials on a stand at the BioFach, (hall 5/stand 436). The topics "biomass as a source of energy" and "possible applications of plant fibres and plant oils" will also be presented. Being experienced in the composting of products from biodegradable engineering materials, the company Rohrmeier-Kompost from Aiterhofen (close to Straubing) is going to introduce itself on the C.A.R.M.E.N. stand.

Information on the symposium: IBAW, Iris Garlipp, tel.: +49-30-28482352, e-mail: symposium@ibaw.org. Information on the C.A.R.M.E.N. exhibition: Walter Wallrapp, e-mail: contact@carmen-ev.de.

Japanese Scientist Visiting C.A.R.M.E.N.

On December 12th, 2002, Dr. Goshi Sato from the Chair of Agricultural Economics at the University of Kyushu, Japan, visited C.A.R.M.E.N. in the Competence Centre for Renewable Resources in Straubing. He took a particular interest in biomass heating plants, biogas, and biodiesel. The C.A.R.M.E.N. project attendants Robert Wagner (biogas) and Sebastian Kilburg (solid biomass) gave him information on these subjects. Wagner had met Dr. Goshi Sato for the first time on his lecture tour to Japan in March 2002 (see also nawaros 02/2002). Travelling around Europe, Goshi Sato now took the opportunity to deepen existing contacts and to inform himself about innovations.

Information: C.A.R.M.E.N., Robert Wagner, e-mail: rw@carmen-ev.de.

Meeting of Operators

On Wednesday, January 15th, 2003, Austrian operators of biomass (heating) stations will be meeting for their 15th get-together in the inn "Rosenwirt" in St. Stefan in Rosental. The meeting is organised by the Landes Energie Verein (LEV) ('Provincial Energy Association') of the Austrian province of Styria, department "Energie Grau", and is supported by the Lokale Energieagentur ('Local Energy Agency') of Eastern Styria.

Information: LEV Steiermark, tel.: +43-316-877-3389, fax: -3391.

Novel Packagings

The representative body IBAW (Interessengemeinschaft für Biologisch Abbaubare Werkstoffe) (i.e. 'Community of Interests for Biodegradable Engineering Materials') will be presenting bioplastics for packaging systems for fruit and vegetables at the trade fair Fruitlogistica in Berlin from 16th to 18th January, 2003. Apart from novel materials and their properties, packagings from the model project in Kassel will be shown.

Information: IBAW, Anja Jakobi, tel.: +49-30-28482354, e-mail: jakobi@ibaw.org.

New EU Directive

After being adopted by the European Council, the Directive on the energy performance of buildings will come into force. Within one year it has to be implemented into national law. Article 5 is of particular interest to renewable resources. There, it says among other things: For new buildings with a total useful floor area over 1 000 m2, Member States shall ensure that the technical, environmental and economic feasibility of alternative systems such as decentralised energy supply systems based on renewable energy, CHP, district or block heating or cooling, if available, heat pumps, under certain conditions, is considered and is taken into account before construction starts.

Member States shall ensure that, when buildings are constructed, sold or rented out, an energy performance certificate is made available to the owner or by the owner to the prospective buyer or tenant, as the case might be (Article 7). The energy performance of buildings should be calculated on the basis of a methodology which also includes the application of renewable energy sources. The full text of the Directive can be read in the Official Journal of the European Communities. It is to be found on the internet: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/index.html. The directive has got the notice number: 2002/C 197 E/02.

Further information: Short slide presentation of the Commission's proposal for a Directive in English: http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy/library/en_bat_sl_en.pdf and http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy/en/fa_2_en.html.

Expert Discussions

On January 23rd, 2003, C.A.R.M.E.N. is organising an expert discussion on the subject "Biodiesel for Public Passenger Transport" for representatives of public utilities, bus and taxi companies, and comparable interest groups. On January 21st, 2003, C.A.R.M.E.N. and the Zentrum für Rationelle Energieanwendung und Umwelt GmbH (ZREU) ('Centre for the Rational Application of Energy and for the Environment') in Straubing are organising the expert discussion "Future Biogas Markets" for manufacturers and operators of biogas plants, for electricity supply and disposal companies, heat suppliers, and all those interested in the subject.

Further information: Hubert Maierhofer (biodiesel), e-mail: hm@carmen-ev.de, Robert Wagner (biogas), e-mail: rw@carmen-ev.de, and on the internet: http://www.carmen-ev.de.

News from the Competence, Centre Death of Dr. Wolfram Münzer

Only three weeks after his retirement, the former Head of the Technology and Support Centre in the Competence Centre for Renewable Resources, Dr. Wolfram Münzer, has died of a serious illness. Since 1998, Dr. Münzer had participated in the development of the Competence Centre in Straubing. In a ceremonial act on December 19th, 2002, the Bavarian Minister of Agriculture, Josef Miller, paid tribute to Dr. Münzers lifework .

New Head of the Technology and Support Centre

Miller inaugurated Dr. Bernhard Widmann into office as Dr. Münzer's successor. In 1999, Widmann was in charge of the organisation of the department of Technology of Renewable Resources. In January 2002, he assumed responsibility for the division of the same name.

Information: Bavarian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

Regenerative Energies

"Chances in Emerging Markets - Regenerative Energies - Biomass, Sun, Water, Wind" is the title of a study published in September. Central and Eastern Europe, South East Asia, and Latin America are in its focus. Up until now, about 1.6 billion people living there have not had access to electricity. The study gives an insight into the market trends of technologies for the use of regenerative energy from biomass, sun, water, and wind in select emerging markets.

Information and ordering: F.A.Z.-Institut für Management-, Markt- und Medieninformation GmbH, Ms. Binsack, Mainzer Landstr. 195, 60326 Frankfurt a. M. (http://www.branchendienste.de), price: 75,00 euros (VAT, post and packing included).

Innovative Processes

The Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (FNR) ('Specialised Agency for Renewable Resources, registered association') offers a publication in German with the title "Innovative Processes for the Production of Heat and Electricity from Biomass" drawn up by Fichtner GmbH & Co. KG in Stuttgart. The book presents current technologies for the use of bioenergy and their efficiency.

Information: Fachagentur für Nachwachsende Rohstoffe (FNR), Gülzow, tel.: +49-3843-6930, e-mail: info@fnr.de (http://www.fnr.de).

Multimedial Learning

Ecologically Competent Learning How much fossil energy is used up by mankind per day? How long will our energy resources last? Everybody who wants to know the answer or who can already solve those questions can deal with questions of energy in an online game. Explanations are also given and terms are illustrated by means of cross-references. The University of Saarland offers these "Problem-Oriented Learning Methods for the Improvement of the Ecological Competence" at no more than cost or on the internet: (http://www.uni-saarland.de/fak5/graesel/forschung/projekte2.htm).

Information: Michael Bilharz, e-mail: bilharz@lmu.de.

Ecological Learning with "actor" The Department of Psychology at the Universty of Kassel has developed a "Multimedial Learning System for the Acquisition of Eco-Friendly Acting Strategies for Different Groups of People". In "Moroland", a fictitious region in the African Sahel, the population's means of livelihood have to be improved without damaging ecology and economy. The learning success is stored in a data file. If participants send their files to the University of Kassel, they do not only make an contribution to the current research work but they also receive a feedback about their personal learning success.

Information: The programme "actor" can be obtained as a gratuitous CD-ROM at Prof. Dr. Ernst-D. Lantermann, University of Kassel, FB 3 - Psychologie, Holländische Straße 36, 34109 Kassel, e-mail: lantermann@uni-kassel.de.

Please Note!

Important C.A.R.M.E.N. dates:

- 10th C.A.R.M.E.N. Forum, on April 7th, 2003, in the Hall of Knights of the Ducal Castle in Straubing under the motto "Economic Aspects of Biofuels, Biolubricants, and Biogas Plants".

- 11th C.A.R.M.E.N. Symposium, from 26th to 27th June, 2003, in the in Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Halle in Straubing with the title "Biomass - Energy and Natural Substances", and in parallel:

- 2nd International Expert and Consumer Fair for Renewable Raw Materials and Solar Energy, from 26th to 29th June, 2003, on the fairgrounds Am Hagen in Straubing. Organiser: biomasse GmbH. Further information: C.A.R.M.E.N., Carmen Weber, cw@carmen-ev.de, and on the internet (http://www.carmen-ev.de und http//www.biomasse-gmbh.com).