uni'wissen 1-2013_ENG

The important thing is to set up a networking center, says RuppertWinkel, touching on one of the group’s most important findings: “In addition to being run by dedicated individuals, this center should be embedded within a solid institutional framework.” As an example, the scientist names the Agenda 21 office of the district Steinfurt in North RhineWestphalia, winner of the 2012 German Solar Prize. The office serves as the nerve center for energy policy in the district. It engages in conflict management, calls the pro tagonists together, delineates their fields of activity – mobility, agriculture, finances, project planning – and organizes public participation as well as a comprehensive system of data collec tion as a basis for planning. Integrating Key Protagonists The researchers emphasize the great impor tance of identifying the key protagonists in the region and getting them involved. For instance, the “political and technical pioneers” in the district of SchwäbischHall “looked for solutions even before renewable energy legislation was passed and simply began experimenting with biogas plants at their farms,” says RuppertWinkel. These experiments led to the establishment of a company that now has 200 employees – a success story that also serves as a demonstration of the economic benefits the regional energy transition can have: Capital stays in the region, where it contributes to prosperity rather than disappear ing into the hands of global energy corporations. The researchers thus added a section on “regional value creation” to their guide for municipalities. What makes the difference is that the energy center Wolpertshausen, responsible for the en tire district of SchwäbischHall, is funded by the local economic development agency. The center organizes lectures and seminars to inform experts and the interested public about the ben efits of alternative energy production. More than “There is a great willingness among the various interest groups to search for common solutions,” reports RuppertWinkel. Indeed, the group has already found such solutions – in the case of LüchowDannenberg, for instance, flower strips for insects and more environmentally friendly seed mixtures are now contributing to the sur vival of the skylark. Shaping the energy transition on a local scale: The “energy wheel” shows the various dimensions for the sustainable expansion of renewable energies. Illustration: EE Regions Project 30

uni'wissen 1-2013_ENG

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