In Pfaffenhofen two technical pilot projects were implemented.
The municipal utilities built a battery swarm storage. This means, many storage units can be connected virtually together and work as one. Therefore, three locations have been selected and connected to the internet. At two of those sites, batteries have been installed. Therefore, they can now exchange data and deliver power virtually between them. In the end, concepts like these will help support grid stability and open up new business cases for users and companies.
The energy cooperative planned and installed a climate clock, which helps raising awareness throughout the community. Therefore, they installed a big screen on which, the software is running. In addition, they installed three levers in front of the screen, so that everybody is able to calculate different scenarios. The beginning is the overall bound fossil CO2. Depending on which area is to be made climate neutral, the clock runs faster or slower. This gives users a sense of what they can do to slow down climate change.
The greatest challenge was to implement two technical pilot projects in Pfaffenhofen in an unprecedented worldwide pandemic, in which the citizens were at the center of finding and participating and could reasonably accompany the implementation. It should be emphasized that two complicated projects were implemented in Pfaffenhofen. Both from a technical and a didactic point of view. The project duration of the two pilot projects was partly more than 1 year. Such project periods are good in normal times, but in time of pandemic they were more than a challenge - but despite everything, or perhaps because of it, they were mastered excellently. It should also be mentioned here that with investment costs of 15,000 euros each, one has to be very creative and that it is only possible with a very high level of personal commitment.
The vision is that the battery swarm storage system will be installed in 1.000 households, commercial units and residential areas in the next 5 years. The CO2 clock arouses interest every day. The first to benefit are the citizens involved in the region in northern Upper Bavaria. In the medium and long term, the know-how gained will certainly be passed on to other interest groups and institutions in Bavaria by the municipal utilities and the BEG, among others.
Some of our ideas and our work in Pfaffenhofen have been noticed and taken up by the Bavarian state government; in particular these concerns - from our point of view - the strengthening of citizens' energy cooperatives. Additional funds are being mobilized by citizens in particular. A new aspect is that industrial companies in particular are now also investing in our energy projects. One reason is certainly the high level of expertise gained, visibility in the region as well as the general trust of the previous stakeholders.
The pilot projects aimed to involve citizens in such a way that they become even more involved in the improvements of SECAP's work. The participation was also intended to strengthen social interactions in the energy sector so that further sustainable structures are created and, in particular, sustainable energy and climate protection projects are found and implemented. The visibility of the present enormous CO2 threat should be shown.
Due to the pandemic, the exchange with the other EU partners got off to a slow start at the beginning of the project. However, with each face-to-face project meeting, the exchange grew by leaps and bounds. The tools that emerged were useful aids. However, the personal exchange with the partners, citizens and stakeholders was particularly important. It was also successful that EU project partners were present at the climate protection day in PAF.
Already during the ongoing ENES-CE project, joint bilateral contacts between transnational EU project partners were deepened in such a way that attempts were made to find and start joint additional projects.