Category Towns/municipalities, council districts, public utilities City of Munich / Germany Project Renewable energies expansion campaign Presentation movie (with English subtitles)   www.muenchen.de

Munich, the Bavarian capital, set itself a goal which is unique among major European cities so far: The Munich City Utilities (SWM), firmly in the hands of the municipality, want to generate enough green power in their own facilities to supply all of the approximately 800,000 private households by 2015. They even aim to meet Munich’s total electricity needs through renewable energy by 2025.

Today, renewable electricity is already provided by eleven existing hydroelectric power stations in the region, a biogas factory in Munich’s zoo, a wind turbine in the north of the city and a number of photovoltaic installations. By the decision to expand solar energy use on the roofs the city of Munich intends to increase the share of solar power considerably. Companies, homeowners and private citizens receive advice and are encouraged to make rooftop areas available for use or to invest in solar rooftop electricity. In addition to this the potential of geothermal power available in the metropolitan area of Munich is exploited to generate heat and electricity.

The investment activities are not limited to the region but pour into Germany and Europe as well. SWM have participated in a solar-thermal plant in Spain and in three North Sea offshore wind farms. They also obtained a number of onshore wind farms in Germany.

Thanks to the city council’s well-designed requirements for the local energy company and the large volume of investment, per capita CO2 emissions will be reduced drastically. Munich is therefore among the first of Europe’s major cities to fight climate change.

Contact:
Landeshauptstadt München
80313 München
www.muenchen.de