A sustainable energy concept for Adlershof
Beate Mekiffer and her team develop strategies and projects for an energy-efficient Adlershof
Since 2010, when she took on this issue at the operating company of the Adlershof technology park, the WISTA-MANAGEMENT GMBH, the energy strategy for the site has taken concrete form. The situation requires a holistic solution, because the aim is to get the people on site enthusiastic about innovative electricity, heating and cooling concepts, to apply for funding and permits and to bring builders and property owners together with idea generators from universities, start-ups and the utility sector.
Ms Mekiffer, your team develops sustainable strategies for Germany’s largest and most modern technology park. What’s going to change in this regard?
We want to provide sustainable solutions for the site. The focus is equally on environmentally acceptable energy provision and the efficient usage of energy provided. We’re approaching both goals systematically. We’ve developed an overall concept for an energy-efficient Adlershof in which we strive for holistic, interconnected solutions for energy provision, interim energy storage and the use of energy.
Could you give us some concrete examples?
For starters, we want to use more renewable energies, like wind and solar power, as well as geothermal and solar thermal heat generation. We also aim to use heat, cooling and electricity more efficiently, though this is something we can only achieve with the cooperation of the people on site. Our task is to convince them to employ energy efficiency measures and to change their consumption behaviour. There’s also an administrative dimension. My team and I develop projects, gain permits for building measures and pilot projects and apply for funding. For example, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has been funding us through its “Energy-Efficient City” programme since 2011 and we also receive financial aid from the Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment.
What projects are planned and which are already underway?
We create showcases for efficiency measures such as lighting for our premises. There’s an article on that in this issue on page 25. Heat optimisation is a major topic. Here we work with the BTB Blockheizkraftwerks-Träger- und Betreibergesellschaft Berlin and the Technical University of Berlin (TU) to implement a power-to-heat project which makes wind power from the surroundings usable for heat. The BTB will furthermore set up a low-temperature grid in which returning water from the district heating pipes is to be used to heat a new residential district here on the site. The special feature about this is that the builders will also be able to feed heat from their own solar thermal installations into the local heating grid. Another project is dedicated to providing cooling for a technology centre on site. Specialists at the TU Berlin and Siemens are optimising the existing cooling grid and will reactive and integrate an existing ice storage facility for this purpose. Ground water should also be used for cooling. Medium-term plans include storing heat emitted by operators on site in hygroscopic brine and making it usable as needed.
Aren‘t these dreams of the future?
Implementation is going full steam ahead, for example the new light plans for our premises and the cooling project. Pilot projects have also run successfully – take for instance our intelligent outdoor lighting, where we use smart street lighting technology developed by Adlershof start-up ICE Gateway GmbH. We initially studied the efficiency potential on 13 street lamps and the value added for controllable networked lighting. We’re launching a major project based on the results.
Do you often collaborate with Adlershof companies?
It’s convenient. We have enormous competence here in every element of innovate energy provision and usage. And the proximity facilitates collaboration.
How do you get energy users on board?
We take different approaches. Our energy manager Simon Hamperl advises investors on site with respect to questions about energy provision and efficiency. He also works with Adlershof Facility Management GmbH to investigate the efficiency potential to be found on the WISTA properties. This year we’re starting to change to LED lighting, which we anticipate will save us about 60 percent. We’re initiating similar efficiency projects with other companies on site. Our technology tours are another approach. They demonstrate which innovative technologies are in development at Adlershof and which functioning solutions we already have. Participants can talk to our professionals and learn all about these solutions. The tours are very popular and they’ve already prompted cooperation and others to copy them.
By Peter Trechow for Adlershof Special