Konz: From now on, climate-neutral energy supply for the administration buildings
Konz, October 12, 2023
It's done! The Konzer town hall and the administration building II are now supplied with climate-neutral heat and electricity from the sewage treatment plant at the mouth of the Saar. “This makes the municipal administration more independent in terms of energy supply and uses even more of its own, climate-friendly energy sources than before,” explains Mayor Joachim Weber.
Photo (from left to right): The first deputy of the VG Guido Wacht, Mayor Joachim Weber and plant manager Ralf Zorn in the new distribution system for climate-neutral heat from the sewage treatment plant.
The energy that is now transported from one side of the Saar to the other is created in several steps by cleaning wastewater in the sewage treatment plant. The head of VG-Werke, Ralf Zorn: “When the water is treated, sewage gas is initially created. This is burned in two combined heat and power plants and thereby converted into heat and electricity.”
From now on, this energy will no longer only be used in the sewage treatment plant itself. The excess heat and electricity that previously remained unused will benefit the two administrative buildings on the market. It flows through a pipe under the Saar, which was made possible by a complex drilling last year.
The energy from the sewage treatment plant is sufficient to supply the entire administration building with heat. The electricity still needs to be upgraded in order to be fully self-sufficient and climate-neutral. The combined heat and power plant will soon be renovated and the sewage treatment plant will be equipped with additional solar systems.
Switching to supply from the sewage treatment plant has other advantages in addition to environmental protection: If there is a longer, general power outage, the administrative buildings will not be affected because they are protected by the sewage treatment plant's emergency power supply.
Further expansion of the project is also conceivable. This could potentially also supply businesses and residents in Konz-Kön with energy. A corresponding feasibility study is currently being carried out to determine whether and how this would be feasible and economical. The VG administration expects a result in the first half of 2024.
The lighthouse project of the Konz municipality has so far cost around one million euros and is funded by the federal government with 35 percent.