NEW ULM — Renewable energy alternate options and the obstacles to implementing them in Minnesota had been the subjects of debate Tuesday at Turner Hall.
Region 9 hosted a panel with neighborhood stakeholders to focus on clean energy choices. The dialogue was led by Guido Wallraven by way of videoconference, the technical director for the town of Saerbeck, Germany’s climate-smart municipality undertaking.
Saerbeck is a neighborhood of seven,200 residents in Germany that started implementing climate-smart initiatives in 2009. Wallraven was in cost of implementing about 150 particular person initiatives that promote and implement native local weather safety. Working with native residents, the neighborhood reworked a former ammunition depot right into a bioenergy park with a mixture of renewable sources equivalent to photo voltaic, wind and biomass.
The result’s a neighborhood that produces 3 times extra electrical energy than the neighborhood wants and lower its carbon footprint in half.
Following the success of Saerbeck, Wallraven has been engaged on municipal local weather safety points for greater than 15 years. Together with native stakeholders, he develops plans for adapting to local weather change. Wallraven now serves as a marketing consultant to municipalities and cities on native measures that assist sustainability.
Wallraven made it clear that Saerbeck’s success was linked to citizen involvement. The residents of Saerbeck received behind the smart-climate work; together with farmers and companies.
He stated one of the vital necessary features of the undertaking was educating the youth. By educating college students as younger as kindergarten, they had been ready to elevate the following technology to pay attention to energy alternate options. Wallraven stated children are a few of the finest ambassadors for clean energy alternate options as a result of these children go residence and ask their dad and mom questions. It can be a way of getting everybody concerned in the undertaking.
The private motivation was additionally an enormous issue in the undertaking shifting ahead. Wallraven stated the neighborhood wished to be energy impartial and that has been a major profit; particularly just lately. Numerous Germany’s oil was imported from Russia. Now greater than different communities don’t need to be depending on Russia for energy.
TOMORROW: Local officers give their takes on how native authorities can take the lead function in transitioning communities to clean energy.
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