SWM Renewable Energies expansion campaign
SWM aims to produce enough green electricity by 2025 to meet the requirements the entire municipality of Munich - as first city worldwide with more than one million inhabitants.
100% green electricity for Munich by 2025
The threat of climate change presents major challenges. Climate protection and sustainable management of natural resources are among the greatest challenges of our time. The city of Munich has recognized the sign of the times. With the help of SWM, its municipal utility company, Munich is taking up a pioneering role and operating at the forefront in terms of climate protection and environmental friendliness.
And SWM has set itself extremely ambitious targets:
We are aiming to produce enough green electricity at our own plants by 2025 to meet the power requirements of the entire municipality of Munich, which stand at around 7.5 billion kilowatt hours per year. This would make Munich the first city in the world with over a million inhabitants to achieve this goal. SWM has launched the Renewable Energies expansion campaign to achieve its target and this has already proven very successful.
SWM will have production capacities of around 2.4 billion kWh in green electricity from our own plants taking account of those projects under development (after completion) or already implemented. This is enough power to supply all 800,000 Munich households as well as meeting the demands of the underground and tram systems.
Thanks to cooperation with wind energy specialist wpd, the generation potential will increase to a total of 3.6 billion kWh by 2020 without taking other possible projects into consideration.
Wind, hydro, solar, biomass and geothermal energy
As part of our expansion campaign, we are using the widest possible range of renewable energies, such as wind, water, solar, biomass and geothermal. We are also only investing in business ventures that are financially viable. We anticipate a total investment volume of around € 9 billion by 2025.
Priority is clearly given to SWM projects in Munich and its region. However, we wre unable to generate enough renewable energy to meet the needs of the city of over a million inhabitants here alone. This is why we also have activities in other parts of Germany and Europe. The wind is much stronger and more constant at sea, while the sun shines more intensively and frequently in southern Europe than here.
Projects of the expansion campaign
As part of the expansion campaign, the following plants have already been acquired or constructed, are under development or are being modernized:
- 17 in Munich and its region (12 hydropower plants, 1 share in a hydropower plant , 2 biomass power plants, 1 geothermal cogeneration power plant, 1 wind power plant)
- 6 in Germany (2 photovoltaic plants, 2 onshore wind parks and 2 offshore wind parks)
- 1 plant in both Spain (solar power plant) and the UK (offshore wind park)
In addition to the plants listed, we also have a stake in wpd europe, Europe’s leading project developer in the wind power industry. This enables SWM to sustainably and continuously construct new regenerative power plants with a greater degree of independence from market availability and price trends for wind parks.
An in-depth look at some projects:
Planning, construction and operation of onshore wind parks in Europe
Through our 33% stake in wpd Europe, we are expanding our existing onshore wind power generation portfolio in Germany. The joint venture is already operating in 12 European countries with projects at various stages of development.
Over the coming years, the objective is to complete already initiated wind park projects and to plan, construct and operate a large number of additional wind parks with total output of several thousand megawatts. Around 130 experts at the joint venture are working towards the attainment of development and expansion objectives in Germany and abroad. In an initial step, around €1 billion is to be invested in the construction of new wind power plants.
Offshore wind park in the North Sea off Sylt
In collaboration with Vattenfall, SWM is constructing the DanTysk wind park in the North Sea around 70 kilometers west of the island of Sylt. The park will comprise 80 wind turbines with total output of 288 megawatts and will supply around 500,000 households with clean electricity from the North Sea wind. The first turbines are to go into operation in 2013.
SWM’s stake in the project (49%) will meet the annual requirements of around 250,000 Munich households. The plant will prevent the emission of a total of 1.1 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Offshore wind park in Liverpool Bay (Irish Sea)
RWE Innogy, SWM and Siemens are constructing the Gwynt y Môr offshore wind park off the coast of North Wales with an output of 576 megawatts. The construction of the first of a total of 160 wind power plants will get under way at the end of 2011. Completion is scheduled for 2014 from when it will generate around 1.95 billion kWh of electricity per year.
SWM has a 30% stake in this joint venture. Our share of around 600 million kWh in green electricity per year equates to the annual consumption of around 240,000 Munich households. The plant will prevent the emission of a total of 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Offshore wind park in the North Sea
The implementation phase for one of the largest offshore wind parks in the North Sea, Global Tech I, has already begun. The first section will go into operation in 2012. The park will produce 1.4 billion kWh of green electricity per year from 2013.
The SWM stake (25%) will meet the annual consumption of 140,000 Munich households. The plant will prevent the emission of a total of 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Onshore wind parks in Germany
Together with partners, SWM has acquired nine wind parks in Havelland with 83 plants from wpd AG. SWM is the majority shareholder with a 75% stake. Our share of 236 million kWh per year meets the annual requirements of around 95,000 Munich households. All of the wind parks combined prevent the emission of 280,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
In summer 2009, SWM acquired five wind parks in Germany (Brandenburg, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Sachsen-Anhalt) from wpd think energy. The 25 wind power plants generate around 100 million kWh of green electricity per year. This meets the annual requirements of 40,000 Munich households and prevents the emission of 90,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Parabolic trough power plant in southern Spain
SWM and its partners constructed the large-scale solar power plant Andasol 3 in Andalusia. It has an output of 50 megawatts. In September 2011 the plant started running in test mode, commercial operations will begin soon.
SWM’s share of electricity generation will meet the annual requirements of 33,000 Munich households. In total, the plant will prevent the emission of 150,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Large-scale solar power plants in Germany
The large-scale solar power plant in Rothenburg/Oberlausitz has an output of 20 megawatts. The joint venture between Gehrlicher Solar AG (60% stake) and SWM (40% stake) supplies a total of 8,000 households with green electricity and prevents the emission of around 18,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
A thin-film solar power plant in Lauingen/Donau with a 10 megawatt output has been producing green electricity since December 2008. This joint venture between SWM and Gehrlicher Solar AG (SWM stake 49.9%) supplies around 4,000 households. In total, the plant prevents the emission of 8,800 tonnes of CO2 a year.
Geothermal cogeneration plant in south Munich
From 2012, a SWM geothermal cogeneration plant in Sauerlach will produce electricity for 16,000 households as well as heat for homes in Sauerlach. It will prevent the emission of 35,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.
Hydropower plants on the river Isar in Munich
Together with a partner, SWM has installed a hydropower plant - the Praterkraftwerk - on the bed of Munich’s Isar river. It generates 10 million kWh of green electricity a year, enough for 4,000 Munich households. In total, the plant prevents the emission of 9,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.
We are also modernizing the Isarwerke 1 and 2 and Maxwerk plants which will generate around 6.3 million kWh of green electricity more per year after completion, enough to supply an additional 2,500 Munich households with green electricity. In total, it will prevent the emission of around 5,600 tonnes of CO2 a year.
Notes:
- All calculations are based on consumption of 2,500 kWh/year for a Munich household.
- The CO2 reductions are calculated on the basis of a specific CO2 value of 0.883 t CO2/MWh. A conventional hard coal-fired power plant with 38.5% efficiency is used as comparison; the specific CO2 value of hard coal is set at 0.34 t CO2/MWh. The CO2 reduction potential of the entire plant is indicated.
