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  • STEAG Fernwärme is a partner to the InnovationCity roll out in Gelsenkirchen

    STEAG is the heating supplier to three InnovationCity projects // Climate protection report confirms: district heating has the best ratio of ecology to economy

    Essen/Gelsenkirchen. What was successfully implemented in the InnovationCity Ruhr | Model city of Bottrop is now to be launched in Gelsenkirchen, too. A climate-friendly urban transformation in a total of 20 districts of the Ruhr area is the aim of the ‘InnovationCity roll out’: less carbon dioxide, more quality of life. Gelsenkirchen’s Mayor Frank Baranowski (SPD) and Burkhard Drescher, managing director of Innovation City Management GmbH (ICM) officially launched the process for the district of Rotthausen in Gelsenkirchen yesterday. As the heating supplier, STEAG Fernwärme GmbH is an important partner in the implementation of the climate protection objectives.

    STEAG Fernwärme has been operating in Gelsenkirchen since as early as 1971. The company supplies consumers in the south of the city with around 204 MW of thermal energy, equivalent to the demand of over 45,000 homes. As part of the newly launched InnovationCity roll out for Gelsenkirchen-Rotthausen, STEAG Fernwärme will be extending its supply area to Rotthausen and also developing district heating supplies in a further district, Feldmark. Udo Wichert, managing director of STEAG Fernwärme GmbH, explains the advantages of district heating as follows: “The use of district heating is a significant component in the reduction of CO2 emissions. The City of Gelsenkirchen’s climate protection plan clearly states the benefits of district heating. It comes to the conclusion that with regard to an economic and ecological comparison of the variants examined, those being storage heaters, district heating, natural gas fired condensing boilers with and without solar thermal support, air-water heat pumps and the use of thermal energy from waste water, district heating achieves the best ratio between ecology and economy. With the measures planned, we can not only increase the comfort in our homes, but also make an important contribution to Rotthausen in the InnovationCity roll out.” That is also the reason why STEAG Fernwärme has been a partner to InnovationCity Ruhr | Model City Bottrop right from the start. Environmentally friendly and climate conserving district heating supply is an important factor when it comes to increasing climate protection in Bottrop with the paramount aim of reducing CO2 emissions by 50 % by 2020. Since 2011, the supply network has been expanded by constructing new district heating lines in the Boy and Eigen districts of Bottrop, and around 350 new district heating consumers have been connected. And in the second InnovationCity project in the Elting district of Essen, STEAG is also a firm partner in the climate protection strategy. Since the start of the project there in April 2015, around 300 residential units have been converted. Not infrequently, inefficient and expensive night storage heaters have been replaced by low-maintenance, climate-friendly district heating. With the project which has now been started in Gelsenkirchen, STEAG Fernwärme has become a partner in three of the projects of Innovation City Management GmbH.

    Background: Innovation City roll out
    The “InnovationCity roll out” name stands for one of the largest projects of structural change in the Ruhr area. The experience and findings from the “InnovationCity Ruhr | Model City Bottrop” project, started in 2010, are to be applied to the Ruhr area as a whole, applying the process, initially developed for Bottrop alone, to other cities in the region. In a total of 20 selected districts of the Ruhr metropolis, all-round development projects are being initiated following the model of the “InnovationCity Ruhr | Model City Bottrop”. The project as a whole is intended through analysis, conceptual planning and potential consequent implementation to achieve a significant reduction in CO2 emissions and further advance the energy transition from the grass roots up. The project is sponsored by the Environment Ministry of North Rhine-Westphalia with financing from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).