Although having met the Kyoto protocol quota in 2008, Germany continues to make efforts for a cleaner environment. Offshore wind turbine parks are the rising stars on sea and German multinationals such as Siemens, Deutsche Bank and E.ON have joined forces to build solar fields in the Sahara desert.
However, nowadays, governments and multinationals are not the only actors anymore: there is an overall growing demand for clean technology solutions. Households and small companies are starting to produce their own electricity, generating energy with mini power plants or solar panels. The “electricity era” est arrivé.
E-Energy is one of Germany’s approaches for a society where all Germans can actively contribute to the energy supply system. In accordance with words such as E-Commerce or E-Government, the notion refers to ICT on the one hand and electricity on the other. The project demonstrates “how the immense potential for optimization presented by information and communication technologies (ICT) can best be harnessed to enhance the efficiency and environmental compatibility of the power supply and to ensure supply security.”
Originators of the E-Energy project are the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), whose Exist program will be presented on the EVM by Dr. Jens Mundhenke, the German Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) and several big German multinationals and energy producers such as Siemens, SAP, EnBW, RWE and Vattenfall. These players have brought together € 140 million for the setup of research studies on the individual production of green energy in six German model regions.
By making private households single energy providers, the four-year project aims to optimize the energy supply system from distribution to consumption and wants to rethink the current power grid. With smart electricity meters, individual households that produce energy are connected with the bigger, already established energy producers. In case the household’s energy production exceeds its own consumption, the excess electricity can be sold back to the energy providers at a profit. That way, individuals feed the power grid and become an active participant in the energy market.
Has your company developed a consumer-oriented clean technology solution? What clean tech projects have already been originated in your country? Feel free to leave a comment!
