The devil is often in the details. The Haar municipal works have often experienced this in recent years when it came to building up a network of charging stations for cars and bicycles in the municipality step by step. One of the difficulties that had to be overcome were the charging stations in the underground car park of the Poststadel training center. Not really a big deal, one might think. But then there were problems when users logged in there with their fuel card: Because no network connection could be established underground, they could not start the refueling process.
The frustration with the wall boxes in the underground car park is an example that Walter Dürr tells when he wants to make it clear that the major tasks involved in the energy and mobility transition cannot be mastered with nice words. It is always important to survive in practice. And in this task he sees his rather small community works at the forefront. “We suffer from practice,” says the head of the Haarer municipal works, because many technical applications have not been thought through to the end or are not mature. If you have thick reinforced concrete over you, that creates problems. Sometimes you have to come up with a lot to ensure trouble-free operation of the charging station.
Walter Dürr (left) and his deputy Rainer Mendel manage the Haar municipal works.
(Photo: Claus Schunk)
The construction of a charging infrastructure is now not part of the core business of municipal utilities. Every municipality handles this differently. One is further along with the charging network, the other is lagging behind. In Haar it is a stroke of luck that Dürr’s deputy, Rainer Mendel, made promoting electromobility his hobby. According to the town hall, there are currently 24 public charging points at twelve locations. In addition, stations are planned on Parkstrasse, Ferdinand-Kobellstrasse, Gronsdorfer Strasse and Keferloher Strasse. More are to follow. The community has launched a survey to find out where there is a need for more stations. Suggestions can be made on the municipality’s website until July 29th.
According to Dürr, the whole thing is not a business for the municipal works. “A lot of work, little profit.” But you see yourself as a service provider for the citizens. The network will therefore be further expanded with a small partner company.