Rising electricity and natural gas prices are pushing Germans to bet more than ever on renewable sources, as well as on energy efficiency and sobriety. Companies, citizens and municipalities set the tone and influence their compatriots. Can they also inspire Quebecers, when our electricity needs are set to increase? Last portrait of a series of three.
On a cold February day, light snow falls on the small Bavarian town of Fuchstal. You can make out the orange tiles under the white cover of the roof of the town hall, a historic building. At this sub-zero temperature, the municipality’s energy facilities are operating at full capacity.
In 2016, when they acquired their first wind turbines, the mayor and his team came up once morest major regulatory restrictions – particularly for the distance from residential areas – and citizen opposition from neighboring villages. Residents feared the turbines would destroy the landscape. They were afraid of the noise and its impact on the birds.
“Our neighbors wanted our skin,” says Erwin Karg, mayor for 21 years. But not anymore. »
Today, everyone wants to imitate them. Mr. Karg’s team has won national sustainability and solar energy awards. Every week, it receives calls from several other European municipalities and journalists, looking for solutions to deal with the energy crisis. It offers tours of its infrastructure. And she has a lot to show.
Since 2006, Fuchstal has been concocting drop by drop an energy cocktail that enriches its citizens. It started with the installation of photovoltaic panels on the roofs of all public buildings, such as the fire station, school and community centres.
“We’re a relatively poor community, so it was a way to make money,” says the mayor with a graying beard and mischievous energy. His level of English being insufficient to discuss the subject, he communicates with The duty through a municipal employee, Corinna Sinken, acting as an interpreter.
At the electricity rate prevailing in Germany, on average almost eight times higher than in Quebec, the panels are reimbursed following ten years. The electricity thus produced, sold to the regional distribution network, generates income that can be reinvested in local services: a new daycare centre, a new barracks, the redevelopment of public places.
Biogas, biomass and storage
The second step, in 2009, was to join forces with a company that owns a biogas plant. Arriving on the scene, we are immediately taken by the throat by a strong smell of compost emanating from the pile of hay and corn which constitutes the raw material of the station, supplied by local farmers.
In a greenish basin hermetically closed so as not to let in oxygen, these components are mixed with water and bacteria. Through a small window, bubbles can be seen bursting on the gray-beige paste thus formed. This is a sign that the biogas is escaping. The latter is directed through pipes to noisy machines that use it to generate electricity, which the company sells. However, this process generates a lot of heat, and this is where the municipality comes in.
The heat is recovered to boil the water in the village’s large reservoirs. “We use this water to heat all of our municipal buildings and regarding 15% of the residences in the village,” explains Mr. Karg. This process is less expensive and more environmentally friendly than heating with oil or natural gas.
During periods of high consumption, we add the contribution of a system to the biomass, that is to say the wood chips, residues of the local forest industry, to bring the water to a sufficiently high temperature. Water can also be heated using a third source, wind turbines. Generally, the electricity produced by the wind is sold to an energy company. But when the demand in the network is low and this buyer does not need it, it is stored in batteries near the water tanks.
Furthermore, the citizens of Fuchstal have the opportunity to invest in these seven wind turbines and receive dividends. Out of 4000 inhabitants, 260 are now co-owners.
Fuchstal has the ambition to further increase its energy independence. Its leaders wish to acquire an electrolyser to produce green hydrogen from their wind turbines. They also hope to have government funding to isolate their own circuit in the event of a regional power outage.
“The name of our project is Fuchstal brille. Even if the regional network collapses, we will be able to keep our institutions alive”, indicates the mayor, who is fearless.
He even wants to buy the network in 2036, at the end of the contract that binds them to the large company that currently operates it.
Ambition for Quebec municipalities
In Quebec, the role of municipalities in electricity production is also set to improve. Remember that Hydro-Québec estimates that the province will need to increase its capacity by at least 50% by 2050 to make its energy transition.
“We have to look at types of energy that are easily accessible, close to communities and consumers,” judge Michel Lagacé, president of the commission on energy and natural resources of the Quebec Federation of Municipalities (FQM). “Local municipalities and MRCs (regional county municipalities) must be stakeholders in projects in their communities. This is the best way to ensure harmonious landscape integration and social acceptability. »
For the past ten years, municipalities and Aboriginal communities have partnered with private companies for certain wind power projects under contract with Hydro-Québec. The economic benefits, particularly financial, are already significant for the populations.
In addition, the FQM supports more than 25 RCMs wishing to develop wind, solar or mini-hydroelectric projects. European experiences can sometimes serve as models, admits Mr. Lagacé. Some cities have also opted for heating with wood chips or pellets for their municipal buildings in order to replace fuel oil at low cost, enhancing a local forest resource.
We must look at types of energy that are easily accessible, close to environments and consumers
The president of the Quebec Association for the production of renewable energy, Gabriel Durany, believes that there is no single solution to get rid of fossil fuels.
“It’s not going to come from a single sector,” he believes. The Germans put forward a diversification of their energy supply. It is quite logical. »
When the mayor of Fuchstal is asked why he is ahead of the wave, he replies that he chose action before reflection. “We didn’t want things to be perfect, we wanted them done,” Erwin Karg says with a smirk. His advice? “Take the first step. »
This report was financed thanks to the support of the Transat International Journalism Fund.The duty.
