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  • EU sponsors 20 million project by STEAG Fernwärme Essen

    District Vice President Milk: “A clear signal for climate protection in North Rhine-Westphalia”

    Essen. The District Government of Arnsberg is supporting the expansion of the climate-friendly district heating network in Essen with a grant of around eight million euros. Funds from the “progres.nrw” funding program will enable the construction of a new main district heating pipeline: the six kilometer long eastern route. STEAG Fernwärme Essen GmbH & Co. KG, a joint venture of STEAG GmbH and Stadtwerke Essen AG, will invest more than 20 million euros in the development of the eastern districts of the city over the next two years. In future, as calculations indicate, climate-friendly district heating for up to 20,000 households will be distributed via the new pipeline network.

    On May 7, 2019, District Vice President Volker Milk handed over the notification of the subsidy to Markus Manderfeld and Tobias Grau, the two representatives of STEAG Fernwärme Essen. “The expansion of the distribution network in Essen,” said the Vice President of the District Government, “is a clear sign of the heat transition and climate protection in North Rhine-Westphalia. The funds for the support program come from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and are awarded by the state of NRW within the framework of progres.nrw funding. In terms of content, funding is concentrated on four priority areas: Innovation, SME promotion, climate protection and urban development.

    By expanding the distribution network, we will prospectively reduce CO2 emissions in the east of the city by up to 30 percent,” said Markus Manderfeld. “That corresponds to approximately 11,000 metric tons of CO2 per year. With the new eastern line, nine districts of Essen will be fully or partially integrated in the heating system: Frillendorf, Kray, Südostviertel, Huttrop, Bergerhausen, Rüttenscheid, Stadtwald, Margarethenhöhe and Bredeney. The district heating network there is to be extended to a length of 90 kilometers over the next 15 years. Interested parties in the districts mentioned will then be able to use the climate-friendly, safe and convenient heat supply, and support the heat transition in their local area.

    District heating is largely produced using the environmentally friendly cogeneration process. This conserves resources and makes a significant contribution to relieving the burden on the environment. Therefore, the Renewable Energies Heat Act (EEWärmeG) evaluates district heating as if the heat were generated entirely from renewable energy sources.

    Keyword “heat transition”: Heat transition (Wärmewende in German) refers to a fundamental transformation in building heating technology and insulation. It will contribute significantly to the success of the energy transition in Germany, as a large part of the energy consumption is created by the generation of heat in households. The aim of the heat transition is to reduce emissions of climate-damaging CO2, for example from old heating systems, to make an active contribution to climate protection.


    Credit: Radiant faces at the presentation of the subsidy decision: District Vice President Volker Milk (centre) and the two representatives of STEAG Fernwärme Essen, Markus Manderfeld (l.) and Tobias Grau. Photo: Arnsberg District Government