Introduction and Main Question
1
Green Living in Europe
Comenius project 2012-2014
Energysupplyin Hamburg andBergen
Philipp and Vegard
Submitted on10.06.2014
Table of Contents
Introduction andmain question2
Main part
Report from Hamburg3
Report from Bergen4
Evaluation7
Conclusion8
Closing9
References9
Introduction andmain question
As part of theComeniusprojectand the associatedstudent exchangeto Bergen, I have engagedmyselfwith myNorwegian partnerwith the theme "energy resourcesin thefuture."In our opinion,this theme isfor many reasonsveryinteresting and important.Theconventionalenergy resourcessuch as oil,gasorcoalwill no longer beavailablein the foreseeable future. Alternative forms of energy, such as: wind energy, photovoltaics, etc. are not enoughto replaceeconomicallybyconventional power plants.Therefore,we foundit exciting tosearchfor a solutionto the energy problem, whichdoes not consumeresources, is profitable andcan beecologicallyresponsible.
Since wehavevisitedin this regardin Bergenand Hamburgsomelocations, ourleading questionis: "What kind of future-orientedenergies can be usedin alarger scalein the future?"We addressthisquestionwith respect to the locations Hamburg andBergen.
The types ofpower plants, which are used forenergy productiontoday, are divided into twolarge groups.Inconventional power plantsandpower plant-likedevices, whichare allocated to therenewableforms of energy.
Conventional power plantsare thosethat usemainlytraditional energy sourcesand technologies.This includescoal, gaspower plants, but alsonuclear power plants.
With renewable energysources of energyare called, which are timelessly available to thepeople.
These sources of energy, such as windorsolar, standin contrast tofossil fuels.Renewableenergy sourcesdo not causeemissions.This is a greatadvantagewith respecttofossil fuels, whichare primarily responsiblefor climate change.
To answerourmain question, we havelookedat the twosites in Hamburgand Bergen,how to workthere withrenewable energyand howthese twocities deal with energy.
Main part
Reportfrom Hamburg
In Hamburg we visited one of the four incinerators. There we were introduced to Hamburg’s way to turn useless garbage into much needed energy. They covert trash to energy by burning the trash and then using the energy to heat up houses and hospitals etc. We think that this of creating energy should be more used in the future. This is mainly because the population level in the world is increasing, and even though we get better at using less garbage, the amount of garbage will still be enough to deliver energy to housings.
We did not only visit the incinerator. We also visited “HafenCity”, were they have come a long way in how environmentally friendly the buildings are. The amount of energy being used in the “Unilever” building is a lot less than other, and the energy is even being reused within the buildings to save even more energy. In this “Unilever” building, they only use LED-lights, and therefore they save a lot of energy that can be used in another way.
In HafenCity was there also another way to supply the buildings with energy. “It is a fuel cell.” The excellent efficiency of fuel cells makes them particularly suitable for decentralized energy supply i.e. the supply of energy from small plants in the close proximity to the consumer.” The fuel cell could run on biogas, landfill gas or methanol, which would enable -neutral and flexible energy generation. This way of using energy is only a pilot plant, which means that it is the first of its kind. It is only used in a part of the HafenCity, called Grossar Grasbrook. If the method proves it good and worthy they will extend it to all other parts of HafenCity.
In the east of the HafenCity there is a heating system that is very environmentally friendly. In a normal heating system in a house the system will produce 300 grams per kWh, in the particular system they only use regenerated energy sources like wood-fired plant, biomethance fuel cell or a combined heat and power plant and a heat pump using river water. It allows the system to produce a index value of only 89 grams per kWh.
In the western HafenCity all buildings receive their heat from a common source. They are connected to a heating network which is driven by a heat and power network generation. For an efficient energy mix with only 175g/kWh they produce the heat with a combination of fuel-cell technology, solar thermal and geothermal energy produces.
A building could receive a Gold or Silver certification if it fulfills some criteria. The ones below are the certification criteria for the buildings in HafenCity. These criteria must be proved by an independent agency.
-reduction of primary energy consumption well beyond statutory requirements for running a building.
-Sustainable management of public goods ( e.g. using advanced sanitary equipment to cut water consumption) efficient use of publicly accessible areas and family friend lineless in hotel and retail buildings.
-Use of ecofriendly construction materials free of halogen, volatile solvents or biocides. Use of certified tropical wood is appreciated.
-Special consideration of health and well-being such as comfortable room temperature, non-allergic fixture and fittings, reverberation and sound isolation, glare protection and air circulation in air-conditioned spaces
-Barrier-free mobility and sustainable buildings facility operations, including low maintenance or use durable materials.
Report from Bergen
The excursion started with a visit to the Hotel Grand Terminus where we got lectured about the hotel by Louise’s father. The subject was how the hotel dealt with the important environmental problems. He told us that the hotel was now one of the leading hotels in Bergen. The hotel got its warming from the waste burning plant in Rådålen, the hotel was good in separating the trash in different bins. The hotel even got the green lighthouse certificate. They are currently trying to use as less energy as possible. Another good thing about this hotel, is that the energy comes from sources like water source and long distance heating.
The next station was Amalie Skram. Amalie Skram is the new school in Bergen, currently under construction. Amalie Veseth talked about the school and how environmentally good it is. She told us about it needing less energy and mostly using renewable energy.
After Amalie Skram, we visited the soon to be new media area in Bergen. This is not connected to our subject, but was still interesting for us. Christine told us about the plan that are going to gather all the different tv-stations, radio-stations and newspapers in one location that is going to be called “Bergen Mediearena”.
In the last station we visited on this day Louise talked about the cruise industry. The problem about the cruise industry is the amount of energy the cruise ships use and how much they pollute. This subject is important for us because the cruise industries can become better with more environmentally friendly energy.
The reason we did this excursion was because we wanted to learn about how Bergen is doing today and what the future plans were.
The next day started with information and afterwards we found a classroom where Vegard and Johannes had two lectures.
Vegard talked about INTPOW and Statoil, which are both important for the energygroup. INTPOW is an organization that tries to make the cooperation between Norwegian and foreign players in the renewable energy industry. Statoil was known for the most of the group. It is a multinational oil and gas company.
Johannes talked about energy politics. This is very relevant for our group and we all got some good information. The reason this is important is because he talked about what the different politicians meant in energy politics.
At 10:00 our excursion group travelled to the BIR-plantin Rådalen. There we learned how the plant was working and what their future plans were. We learned that the plant creates energy from waste and transport it to housing all over Bergen.
Before the guided tour, we listened to a specialist in waste tunnels. The plans he showed us looked very exciting and we all think that they would lead to a better city environment.
After the lecture about the plant, we had a short tour at the plant, guided by one of the specialists. He showed us the whole process at the plant and talked a little bit about some sections.
After the excursion at the plant Martin was talking about the Nesttunvannet Terrasse.
Nesttunvannet Terrasse in Bergen consists of 154 Plus-apartments. Some may wonder what a “Plus-Apartment is”; it is a new and “better way of living. Plus-Apartments offer experiences, service and safety, that will guaranty people to live easier and better. The apartments are located close to the Bergen Light Rail and bus terminals, which willreduce the need for private cars in the daily life. This will mean allot for Bergen, since one of the biggest problem for the environment is pollution from the cars.
The residents in Nesttunvannet terasse are almost entirely heated by warm water, and not by heating cables. Warm water as a source of heat is much more environmental, because it demands much less electricity. The architectural structure of the buildings in this complex is quite compact, which makes it easier to collectivize the waste in shared garbage containers. The isolation used in these buildings are one of the products of Sundolitt. Sundolitt Isolation is about 20% more effective than regular isolation with the same sizes at confining heat within the building. The isolation is approved by Embalasjekonvensjonen, the Norwegian Convention of Packaging, with regards to the environmental qualities of this product.
Riad was supposed to talk about the passive house which is currently being built on Damsgårdssundet, but we didn’t have time for it. But we’re going to write about it anyway.
Instead of living in a regular house, people should be living in passive houses. A passive house, such as the one that is being built on Damsgårdssundet, is a house with a special design, which produces a much lower energy consume than today’s standard.
In comparison to an ordinary house, the energy requirement in passive houses reduces through passive measures such as extra insulation, density, good windows, utilization of solar energy and thermal insulation.
This means that you don't have to use electricity or fuelwood to keep the heath. Such houses are a little expensive, but it will save you money in the long run and the environment.
ENØK is a Norwegian company designing and building passive house. Their main goal is to reduce the power consumption, making it cheap and environmentally friendly.
Passive houses have already been built some places in Bergen, such as this, but the number has to expand. If it does so, the environmental situation in Bergen will become much better.
Evaluation
The two plants, in Hamburg and in Bergen are very similar, but they do have their differences.
To start with, I am going to give some more information about the incineration as part of the “Stadtreinigung” in Hamburg and then about BIR in Bergen. This is going to result in a comparison between the inceneration and BIR.
Incineration inHamburg
The landfills in the big cities are huge, which means there is a lot of trash there. Therefore it is important to have a good and effective system to get rid of the trash in an environmental friendly way. Like many other countries, Hamburg is also taking advantage of incineration, which is a waste treatment procedure. This is a process that uses organic substances which is located in waste materials. These materials are afterwards burned, and then converted into biogas, which is environmentally friendly, and the energy makes the landfill self-sufficient. They are also converted into ash, heat and flue gas. The ash is taken to the outskirts, and buried under the ground, so it does not pollute. The flue gases that are created, is cleaned of gaseous and particulate pollutants before they are dispersed into the atmosphere, while the heat which is created can be used to generate electric power.
BIR
The BIR plant is very equal to the incineration in Hamburg. The process in BIR is almost identical to the one in Hamburg. The waste gets burned and then the heating is being used to create electricity and to heat houses. BIR has not yet got a biogas facility, but the plan is to have one ready at the end of 2013.
Comparasion
As I have said previously, the two facilities are very similar. They both transform waste to electricity. The biggest difference is the biogas. The incineration has a biogas facility, but Bergen does not. This is off course not optimal, and hopefully BIR gets a biogas facility as quick as possible.
Regarding futureenergysupplyisto say thatboth sitesare trying to gettheirenergy problemson the spot inthe handle.
In large cities, the demand for energy is particularly high. Therefore, we believe it is important that plants take over a large part of the energy supply on site. An example therefore is one of the four incinerators in Hamburg. There are also other locations in Hamburg, where energy is produced. Also in Bergen, the power supply from the power plants is dissolved in the immediate vicinity. There are therefore decentralized structures.
However, many modern power plants, such as waste incineration plant in Hamburg do not work with sustainable energy sources. At a minimum, the waste problem is solved and it is simultaneously generated energy. This means that conventional energy sources are used only sustainable. A shift to the predominant use of renewable energy sources can not be seen. This is a shame, because the construction of modern power plants cost a lot of money, which could perhaps be put more in the development and construction of power plant sites of renewable energy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, is to say thatitcertainlymakes sensethatthe cities take care totheirenergy supply.It would be desirablebuta strongerexpansion of renewableenergies.Of whichwe have not seen inHamburg andBergenmuch.There are manytechnologies that arenow veryprofitable andin remote locations, can be installed, such as on roofs. Thus, asignificant portion of theenergyneeds are covered. Therefore, cities should encourage thisandmuch moresupportto individual citizensthere.
Closing
Thesightseeingin Bergenand Hamburgwere very interesting andgave usa goodinsight into howenergyproblems can be solvedin the future. Unfortunately it wasnot possible due tolack of time,orto visitotherpower plants.Nevertheless, it waspossible for usto theextentof the surveys,to answer ourmain question.
References
-
20.09.13
-//
22.09.13(übersetzte Seite)
- kraftwerke-im-zukuenftigen-energiesystem.html
22.09.13
-
24.09.13
(BIR Bergen, Year report 2011)
Henrik Lystad, for «avfall Norge
(Svein Sande, Anders Krosby, Line D Blytt, Bjarne Paulsrud) 23.09.13