Status: 25.11.2023, 17:40 PM
By: Stefanie Zipfer
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The strong men of the new cooperative: the two board members Martin Bednarz and Christian Wagner (from left) as well as supervisory board chairman Michael Reiter (right). © Reinhard-Dietmar Sponder
At the first information event of Bürgerenergie Dachauer Land eG in the Gasthaus Doll in Ried, the doors had to be closed at the beginning due to total overcrowding.
Ried – 250 visitors came to the event. They were standing or sitting everywhere, even on the floor. A second information event is planned.
Possibility to take citizens with you
"The citizens' cooperative offers a good opportunity to get the citizens on board," said Michael Reiter, Chairman of the Supervisory Board. "It should lead to a regional electricity market." The big bang in electricity prices in 2022 has shown how important this is, the mayor of Altomünster continued.
It was only in March of this year that 22 founding members, including the municipalities of Altomünster, Hilgertshausen-Tandern and Indersdorf, had put Bürgerenergie Dachauer Land eG on the track. It was registered by the district court in November. According to Reiter, projects envisaged are: ground-mounted photovoltaics (PV), wind turbines and possibly its own small substation. "In the long term, we would not close ourselves off to a heat supply."
But because infrastructure and large-scale projects take time, added Professor Martin Bednarz, one of the two cooperative board members, Bürgerenergie Dachauer Land offers all members an electricity price of 32.9 cents per kilowatt hour with a basic price of 13.50 euros per month, i.e. 162 euros per year. This is made possible by a cooperation with the great role model, Bürgerenergie Freisinger Land eG.
Small power plants do not require a permit
In addition, on the basis of the new law on balcony power plants, which will come into force on 1 January 2024, a lump sum of 549 euros, including installation, is to enable all members to self-consume self-generated electricity of a calculated 668 kilowatt hours per year. Sites can be balconies, garden sheds and so on. These small power plants do not require a permit and only need to be registered. In this way, the whole thing pays for itself after about two years.
Especially at the beginning, according to Reiter, it is important to minimize the risks for the cooperative. For example, in the case of a wind turbine costing six to ten million euros, you need three-quarters of a million euros just to submit an application, without having the certainty that it will be approved in the end. That is why it is important to have as many members as possible. Other municipalities such as Röhrmoos, Schwabhausen and Vierkirchen have already signalled their interest. This was confirmed by Mayor Dieter Kugler from Röhrmoos.
In the Q&A session, energy pioneer Wilhelm Kirchensteiner pointed out a profitable and quick way to set up battery storage systems. He wanted to know whether a "company-neutral energy consultancy" was being considered, because there is currently a great deal of uncertainty among many people. Bednarz referred to the advice provided by the municipalities and the district office. However, he did not completely rule out the possibility of working with a consultant at some point. Battery storage systems are definitely on the cooperative's radar. Hydrogen projects are also conceivable at a later date, "but first we want to offer something reliable."
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The strong men of the new cooperative: the two board members Martin Bednarz and Christian Wagner (from left) as well as supervisory board chairman Michael Reiter (right). © Reinhard-Dietmar Sponder
Werner Hillebrand-Hansen, chairman of Bürgerenergie Freisinger Land eG, which has been in existence for ten years, admitted that the company's own production of electricity through ground-mounted PV and the Kammerberg wind turbine has so far only reached 20 percent, but will continue to be intensified. 80 percent of the electricity comes from an Eon hydroelectric power plant. His cooperative always buys the electricity in the previous year, so that it is always possible to reliably calculate the price a year in advance. This will also benefit the members of the new Dachau sister organization.
According to Christian Wagner, the other board member of the new citizens' energy cooperative, anyone can become a member, i.e. not only citizens from the municipalities that have already joined the citizens' cooperative. With 100 euros for a share, interested parties are in. No one, including a municipality or association, can acquire more than 50 shares, lest a major investor take over the majority.
You can read more news from the Dachau region here.