Potsdam is investing 1.3 billion euros in the innovative heat turnaround!

Potsdam is investing 1.3 billion euros in the innovative heat turnaround!

Potsdam is taking a course on a climate -friendly future: With a massive investment package of 375.2 million euros, approved by the city council, the foundation for the heat turnaround is laid. The aim of the city is to completely switch the local electricity, heat and water supply to renewable energies by 2045. This was recently decided in a vote in which the AfD and the free voters voted against the decision. The total volume of the planned measures amounts to around 1.3 billion euros, as cityreport reports.

In order to implement the ambitious project, Mayor Burkhard Exner has conducted intensive negotiations with the shareholders of Energie und Wasser Potsdam GmbH (EWP). Stadtwerke Potsdam and E.DIS AG have guaranteed to provide the necessary equity. There are still unclear points in the financing of the complete switch to renewable energies, for example in the area of geothermal energy, which takes up a central place in the plans. Among other things, the city plans to replace geothermal systems to replace the Old Heating Power Plant Süd, which will soon reach its term. Initial trial drilling in Heinrich-Mann-Allee was already promising.

technological foundations of the heat turnaround

As part of the investment program, a "control area heat turnaround" is to be set up in order to accompany the implementation of the climate goals. The EWP will also check various economic and technical alternatives to its previous heat concept. This includes technologies such as combined heat and power plants and peak load boilers, underlines the EWP management, which sees the project as an important contribution to climate protection and security security.

A total of around 59,000 households in Potsdam are connected to the district heating network, whose future care is now at stake. According to the managing director of the EWP, Christiane Preuss, who recently announced her resignation, Potsdam is at a turning point that affects not only the city's energy policy, but also its ecological responsibility. The Federal Environment Agency actively supports these initiatives and is working on strategies so that Germany reaches greenhouse gas neutrality at the latest, as the Tagesschau confirmed.

long -term perspectives and challenges

The planned measures are not without challenges. Despite the positive approaches, it remains to be seen how the financing of the complete changeover can ultimately be secured. In the next few years, it will be important to ensure planning security for the EWP and the partners involved, while at the same time the tax compound of the municipal utility company must remain secure. These points will be decisive for whether Potsdam can actually achieve the climate goals.

The upcoming phase will show whether the city has the necessary hand to advance the heat turnaround with a full swing. It remains exciting to observe how those responsible react to the challenges and indeed implement the ambitious goals. The Federal Environment Agency has already formulated clear requirements that will have to serve as a timetable for the necessary measures in the next few years.