Recharge your batteries: Enertrag presents a future vision for Uckermark

Recharge your batteries: Enertrag presents a future vision for Uckermark

On Tuesday evening last week, a citizens' information event organized by Enertrag took place in the Bertikow community center. The aim of this event was to promote the regained trust of the population and to create a unified vision for future energy production in the region. Press spokesman Matthias Rassinger made it clear that no information would be embellished or sold. Also the board, Dr. Tobias Bischof-Niems was on site and explained technical aspects of the planned initiatives.

Mayor Peter Gerhardt praised the long-standing cooperation with Enertrag, while regional manager Marc Transfeld acknowledged the loss of trust that was occurring and emphasized that they wanted to actively try to restore it. The central presentation that evening was the “Uckermark composite power plant” project, which includes a combination of wind, solar energy, storage and hydrogen and is intended to promise cheap electricity for the region. Despite these encouraging prospects, some questions from residents remained unanswered and led to skepticism about the electricity price reduction, also given the challenges of hydrogen production in Schwedt.

The Uckermark-Barnim hydrogen region

A look beyond the event shows that the districts of Uckermark and Barnim are working with many partners as part of the “H2 Hydrogen Region Uckermark-Barnim UB” project to achieve climate neutrality by 2045. The concept “From the region for the region” aims to develop the region into an innovative location for the production, storage and use of green hydrogen. This is not only intended to meet regional energy needs, but also to contribute to a secure and affordable energy supply. Interestingly, this initiative could also increase local acceptance of renewable energy, as so-called “green technologies” are becoming increasingly important in our region.

Hydrogen is increasingly seen as a key factor in the future energy system. According to that Federal Environment Agency Hydrogen plays an important role in the chemical industry and is needed to balance fluctuating production from renewable energy sources. However, it must also be noted that the widespread use of hydrogen is more inefficient than the direct use of renewable electricity. For example, using 1 kWh of renewable electricity in heat pumps can save almost 3.3 kWh of natural gas, while only around 0.6 kWh can be saved when producing hydrogen.

Open questions and citizen opinions

The topics of noise and quality of life were also addressed during the event, but many questions regarding the sound levels of the electrolyzers remained unanswered. According to the experts' statements, citizens wanted a more open discussion instead of just information from expert panels. The skepticism about the unequal distribution of wind turbines in the Uckermark/Barnim regional plan cannot be overlooked either. These and other concerns reflect residents' desire to ensure that quality of life and environmental concerns are not lost focus on such important issues.

Some citizens called for more transparency and a serious discussion of their concerns. Whether Enertrag is prepared to touch this nerve with citizens remains to be seen. By taking part in the event, citizens have already made it clear that they care about their quality of life and are willing to actively address these issues.

In summary, it can be said that the ideas and projects for promoting hydrogen use and production in the region have great potential, but there are also numerous challenges and concerns among local residents. Whether these projects can lead to an improvement in the quality of life is an exciting question for the coming years.