Lieberhausen „Central Heating Supply with Wood “

Context

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The use of renewable fuels is a declared aim of the federal and state governments. Against this background, activist residents of the village of Lieberhausen (pop. 400) near Gummersbach made it their goal to become largely independent of fossil fuels by using renewable wood instead.

Project description

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The installation of a heating plant burning woodchips has ensured that the village of Lieberhausen can cover almost its entire demand for heating and warm water by using wood as a fuel. In contrast to fossil fuels such as oil, gas or coal, wood is a renewable raw material with a balanced CO2-audit. And because its sulphur dioxide emissions are also low, energy production from wood is a sustainable energy concept.
The key elements of the measure are the heating plant, the short-distance district heat grid which distributes the heat from the plant to the village, and the home delivery stations for room heat and water for domestic use. The fully automatic wood-burning heating plant is equipped with a feed grate firing facility with a nominal capacity of 900 kW. This combustion type allows for the use of fuels with higher residual moisture. Approximately 80% of the 2.000 m³ solid measure of timber used is made up by forest wood chips, with the remaining 20% being composed of wooden residues from saw mills and the timber industry, respectively. The heating plant is operated independently by volunteer helpers from the village. The activities are organized by the Energy Co-op Lieberhausen, which was established expressly for this purpose. This was a project run by citizens for citizens right from the start. A decisive factor was the cost-saving opportunities created by relying on self-help in the planning, construction and operation, as well as maintaining self-administration and self-reliance. By July 2004, 76 of the village’s 103 buildings are connected to the central heating system, with the connections for another 11 buildings having been prepared.
Key realization steps were the elaboration of a tariff and connection conditions for future heat buyers, the performance of coordination meetings with approval authorities, securing transition rights (roads and real estate) and the resolution of funding and assistance modalities. A project-related legally binding land-use plan was drawn up for the heating plant location, which the co-op is leasing from Gummersbach council. In order to optimize fuel logistics and plant operation, a wooden workshop and storeroom were constructed above the furnace body. Given a (hypothetical) heating fuel price of 25 cent per litre and an annual consumption of 3.500 litres, the owner of a single-family residence connected to the short-distance heat grid will save approximately 200 euros a year in heating costs.

Project chronology

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Aims

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• Extensive independence from fossil fuels
• Use of the CO2-neutral, renewable fuel wood
• Practical test for the profitable use of wood-burning heating plants for larger settlement units

Types of measures

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• Resident community information events
• Establishment of an energy co-op
• Construction of a wood-burning district heating plant
• Creation and operation of a short-distance heat grid

North- Rhine Westphalia sponsoring prize for renewable raw materials 2000

Innovations

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In Lieberhausen, a central heating and warm water supply grid could successfully be established via the exemplary and voluntary commitment of the residents. The operation of the system with the renewable fuel wood not only makes sense ecologically, but is also attractive for connected users from an economic point of view.

Sources

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• Rosenbauer, Bernd (2003): Lieberhausen. Unser Dorf auf dem Weg zum hölzernen Zeitalter (Lieberhausen. Our Village on the Way into the Wood Age). In: http://www.nahwaerme-forum.de/info/lieberhausen.html
• Rosenbauer, Bernd (2002): Never Fear the Oil Crisis. Lieberhausen Bets on Wood (Keine Angst vor der Ölkrise. Lieberhausen setzt auf Holz). In: LÖBF-Mitteilungen 2/2002. n. p.
• n. auth. (2002): Biomasseprojekt Lieberhausen. Eine heisse Sache - Heizen mit Hackschnitzeln (Biomass Project Lieberhausen. A Hot Thing – Heating with Wood Chips). In: CONTRASTE magazine nr. 192, Topic Schwerpunktthema Energiegenossenschaften (Focus Energy Co-Ops). n. p.
• Rosenbauer, B.; Ahl, K.-H. (n. y.): Biomasse-Heizwerk Lieberhausen (Biomass Heating Plant Lieberhausen). In: http://www.nahwaerme-forum.de (projects). n. p. (photos, layout plan)

Further information

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• http://www.nahwaerme-forum.de

Größere Kartenansicht

The projekt site ist to be found at postal code: 51647 - town: Lieberhausen - street: Waldweg nähe Homertstraße 15.

Protagonists

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• Bernd Rosenbauer, Staatliches Forstamt Attendorn (State Forestry Office Attendorn), Immertweg 32, 51647 Gummersbach, tel. 02354/902065 fax: 02354/902066, email: bernd.rosenbauer@fa-attendorn.lfv.nrw.de
• Karl Heinz Ahl, architect, Meerschlader Weg 3, 51702 Bergneustadt-Wiedenest, tel. 02261/470670, fax: -214, email: k-h-ahl@t-online.de