Oberallgäu - The Abwasserverband Obere Iller (AOI) wants to operate the sewage treatment plant in Immenstadt-Thanners in a climate-neutral manner by 2030.
In order to know which measures have to be taken, the AOI commissioned the environmental office “Jedele und Partner” with a potential study.
"We want to make our contribution to protecting the climate," said association chairman Dieter Fischer.
Another reason: further price increases are to be expected in the energy sector.
At the latest association meeting, qualified engineer Frank-Steffen Schmid from the environmental office explained how "power guzzlers" can be slowed down.
In the study, he comes to the conclusion that 936,000 kilowatt hours could be saved per year in 2030.
That corresponds to an amount of 225,000 euros annually.
Save costs - protect the climate
The expert showed which measures are necessary for this.
By the end of next year, an optimization of the aerator and blower, the intermediate lift and the generator sets as well as the shutdown of heating pumps could save 209,000 euros per year more in the till.
The intermediate lift has already been renewed and has been in operation for a short time, and the replacement of the approximately 40-year-old aerators in the secondary clarifier will start this year.
For medium-term measures, Schmid recommended building a new third block-type thermal power station by 2026, among other things.
The second heating plant, built in 2006, is considered "decrepit" and should be renovated.
The engineer presented different variants with corresponding possible costs.
Own electricity share could be 99 percent
The second digestion tower, which is currently being built, promises another positive development.
The sewage sludge is converted into gas in the digestion tower.
In the long term, more sewage gas could be obtained through operation with two digestion towers.
If all the proposals are implemented, the plant would be climate-neutral in nine years.
At the same time, the share in the production of self-generated electricity would increase from around 60 percent today to around 99.4 percent.
"We will consistently implement the project in order to achieve our goal of climate neutrality in 2030," promised the AOI association chairman Dieter Fischer.