Innovative Energy Systems and Economic Growth: The Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis Model

This webseminar will take a closer look at the journey of Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis towards becoming a benchmark in climate protection and energy innovation. It will explore the district’s successful strategies for phasing out fossil fuels and transitioning towards a renewable energy supply. The webseminar will address key questions, such as the most efficient ways to eliminate fossil fuels and how a region can successfully adopt local renewable sources. The common challenges faced by municipalities, such as lack of knowledge and expertise, technological and financial barriers, system operation complexities, local regulations and land-use issues will also be discussed. Additionally, the webseminar will outline the starting conditions, enabling factors and solutions that have been implemented to address these challenges. Importantly, it will also analyze the substantial economic impact of this transition process, resulting in annual regional value creation of 44 million EUR for the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, sustained over 20 years.

Speaker

Bertram Fleck is a German politician who served as the District Administrator of Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis from 1989 to 2015. He is known for his advocacy for decentralized power generation and his leadership in the district’s transition to renewable energy. Fleck spearheaded significant projects such as the “1000 Roofs Photovoltaic Program” and led the region to produce more than three times its electricity consumption from renewable sources. His efforts were recognized when Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis was awarded the “Energy Municipality of the Decade” by the German Renewable Energy Agency (AEE) in 2018.

Language

The debates will be held in EN, with simultaneous translation in HR, HU, PL and RO.

Registration

The Zoom link will be shared with participants upon registration, which is open until 29 January 2024. The registration link is available here.

The event is organised in the framework of EUKI project Ready4NetZero, an initiative coordinated by the Association of Municipalities Polish Network „Energie Cités“/PNEC (Poland), in partnership with Ecologic Institute/ ECOLOGIC (Germany), EnergiaKlub Climate Policy Institute and Applied Communications/ ENERGIAKLUB (Hungary), the Romanian Network of Energy Cities/ OER (Romania), and the North-West Croatia Regional Energy and Climate Agency/ REGEA (Croatia).