Berlin – Energy transition very practical: In August, the red-red-green Senate decided that the roofs of public buildings should be equipped with solar power systems by the end of 2024. The whole thing is called: Solar obligation for all public buildings. The goal is for Berlin to cover a quarter of its own electricity needs with solar power by 2050. On behalf of eight districts, the Berliner Stadtwerke will set up almost 440 systems with a total output of 29 megawatts on district-owned buildings by 2024. As the Berliner Stadtwerke announced on Thursday, there are now two new projects.
The Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts and the University of Applied Sciences (HTW) have agreed on the operation of solar systems with the municipal utility. The company has already installed such systems at the Alice Salomon University, the Humboldt University’s storage library and at the HTW.
Solar system on the roof: remarkable effect
The effect is quite remarkable: With the new system, the HTW doubles its solar capacity on the Wilhelminenhof campus in Oberschöneweide. According to the municipal utility, 83 percent of the electricity generated is actually to be used on site, so that 29 percent of the building’s electricity requirements can be covered, thereby saving 142 tons of carbon dioxide. At the drama school at the Zinnowitzer Strasse location in Mitte, 27 percent of the electricity requirement is to be ecologically “harvested” from its own roof in a few weeks, thereby saving 46 tons of carbon dioxide.
“As a sustainable and climate-friendly institution, we have a special social responsibility in Berlin,” said Christiane Linsel, the chancellor of the acting school. “Like every university, we are a source of inspiration and multipliers and therefore continuously put our handling of all resources to the test.”
HTW President Carsten Busch said: “We have been actively promoting climate protection at HTW Berlin since 2015. One of our key goals: reducing our CO2 emissions.”
The systems are even cheaper for the universities in the long term because they are leased: The systems in the lease model are dimensioned in such a way that the maximum amount of electricity generated is also consumed in the building. The owners of the buildings lease the roofs for a symbolic amount and lease the solar system in return. The public utilities install the systems and also service and maintain them. “It’s a win-win situation for the environment and the universities,” said Kerstin Busch, Managing Director of Stadtwerke. Because the previous electricity costs are saved and thanks to the stable lease, the schools have fixed prices for 20 years with the constantly rising energy prices.