Energy independence and climate alliance in the City of Bamberg, World Heritage Site.
In the German city of Bamberg, both city and county are working together towards a 100-percent supply of renewable energy. This should be realised by 2035 – reason enough for the Renewable Energies Agency to declare Bamberg the “Energy Municipality” of the month for August 2010.
The county and the city of Bamberg have set the goal of making the energy consumption for the region’s 210,000 people 100 percent independent and from renewable sources by 2035. And that’s not only in the electricity sector; heating should also be completely converted to renewable energy. “The realisation that the city could not reach the goal of energy independence on its own was one of the reasons for the cooperation between county and city,” comments the environment representative of the city Bamberg, Günter Reinke.
The basis for the cooperation between the district administrator and the Bamberg city mayor is the ‘climate alliance’ of 2008. “With its goal of having combined energy independence, the climate alliance offers a solution for an important question of communal welfare. Cities as the energy user, and the surrounding area as its producer, can work together to find a renewable energy supply,” summises Mayor Starek.
With the formation of the climate alliance, Bamberg District adopted effective environmental protection:
1. Target: energy autarchy for the City and District of Bamberg by substitution of fossil fuels by renewable energies and all measures to improve energy efficiency
2. Reduction of energy consumption and CO2 emissions in local real estate by 30% by 2020
3. Integration of the municipalities as well as municipal and private companies in strategic environmental policy
4. Support of citizens in their creation of public municipal life as defined by sustainable environmental protection
5. Extension of a neutral independent energy advisory service for citizens and local companies
6. Promotion of environmental education
7. Consolidation and advancement of energy-efficient mobility
8. Consolidation of measures for the protection of the resources soil, water and air against global warming in terms of a holistic climate policy
9. Application of energy-saving measures in area development planning and municipal resources management
10. Climate protection through reasonable nutrition under the marketing campaign “Region Bamberg – weil’s mich überzeugt!”
© Landkreis Bamberg
These targets are reachable but need different groups for support. Through establishing an climate and energy agency, encouraging local companies to step forward in the green production sector, providing information material, building networks of interested groups.
Last but not least using green technology in its own premises the ditrict is aiming at a role model function for citizens and the private sector. By co-operations between municipalities and private sector unutilised potential can be realised costefficient.
ECO REGIONS | Energies/CHP and Photovoltaic | Best Practices Bamberg
Source: DETAIL
