Yunus Ulger
WALL – While Germany and many European countries are considering how to spend the next winter due to the energy crisis, a small village in Germany has no such worries. The village of Feldheim, where 130 people live, is 80 km away from the capital Berlin, and produces its own electricity and heat from renewable energy sources. 55 wind turbines and solar panels not only meet the electricity needs of the village, but also have the capacity to generate enough electricity for 50 thousand households. Providing its energy independence for 10 years, the village also meets its heating needs with its biogas facility. The village is not only shown as an example in Germany, it has been frequented by experts and politicians from many countries of the world. With the onset of the energy crisis, many news were published about the village, which became the focus of media attention.
THE FIRST WIND TURBINES ARE ESTABLISHED IN 1995
The village of Feldheim takes the first step towards energy independence by installing four wind turbines in 1995. Civil engineer Michael Raschemann, who was a student at the time, explains his idea to the people of the village with plenty of wind. However, the idea is not popular at first. The villagers, who mainly produce corn and rye, are afraid of the noise and think that the turbines will damage their crops. Raschemann finally convinces the villagers that the village cooperative gives him a field with a wind turbine. Thus, the first step towards renewable energy is taken with four wind turbines. Currently, there are 55 wind turbines in the village.
SOLAR PANELS ARE INSTALLED
The villagers of Feldheim are not content with wind turbines, they take action to generate electricity from solar energy in 2008, solar panels are installed in the village for this. These panels have the capacity to generate enough electricity for 600 households. Currently, the electricity produced by the village with a population of 130 is sufficient to meet the needs of 50 thousand households. The village of Feldheim transfers more electricity than it needs to the local public electricity system.
Feldheim villagers, who want to be independent in heating and turn to renewable energy, are establishing a biogas plant in 2008. For this reason, the owner of the electricity and heating lines in the village wants to buy the lines from the Eon Edis company, but the company does not sell them. Thereupon, the villagers, who set up a company themselves, are laying their own electricity and heating lines. Each household participates with a capital of 3 thousand euros, the remaining 1.7 million euros is provided by the European Union (EU) and the State of Brandenburg. Thus Feldheim villagers gain full independence in energy. Feldheimians pay 12 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity and 7.5 cents per kilowatt for heating. In the State of Brandenburg, electricity is currently around 37 cents per kilowatt hour.
THEY ARE THE FOCUS OF THE WORLD’S INTEREST
The Mayor of Treuenbritzen city of Feldheim village, Michael Knape, was invited to the Asian Energy Conference held in the Philippines in recent years. Experts and politicians from Japan, Guatemala and many other countries visited the village. Mayor Knape says they did not set out to be energy independent, their priority is renewable energy. He states that this is possible with a decentralized energy system. The architect and civil engineer of the project, Michael Raschemann, emphasizes that the project was successful with the participation and support of the villagers.