The name of the small community between Landsberg and Ammersee, around 70 kilometers from Planegg, makes the hearts of friends of regenerative forms of energy beat faster. The approximately 4,000 residents of Fuchstal are 100 percent climate-neutral and thus play a pioneering role nationwide. Efforts are also being made in Planegg to completely supply the more than 11,000 residents with alternative forms of energy in 20 or 30 years at the latest: solar systems, wind turbines, e-mobility, biogas systems or combined heat and power plants. So what could be more obvious than paying a visit to Fuchstal? Municipal councilor Angelika Lawo from the Green Group 21 had the idea and implemented it last weekend with nine colleagues from almost all parliamentary groups. Her enthusiastic summary: “The trip was totally worth it.”
Fuchstal is something of a Mecca for friends of green energy policy. The municipality supplies itself completely with renewable electricity for all households. The alternative heat supply and most of the e-mobility come from renewable energy. There is a biogas plant with connected combined heat and power plants and a wood chip thermal power plant in the village. The heat is supplied to its own heating network, into which excess electricity from the soon to be seven wind turbines and many photovoltaic systems can also be fed. There are two heat accumulators with 5000 cubic and 200 cubic capacities. The local heating network is 15 kilometers long and supplies 150 residential units, soon there will be 450. The distribution takes place via a switching center that is housed in a barn, “which even offers enough space inside to celebrate parties,” says Angelika Lawo. There are also a number of containers with state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries in which up to 5.8 megawatts of electricity can be temporarily stored.
Fuchstal’s mayor, Erwin Karg – “an energy fanatic,” says Lawo, told the people of Planegg that it took 17 years to get as far as it is today: “In the beginning there was enormous resistance, and the neighboring community even complained about the wind turbines.” In the meantime, they have reconciled – also in view of the high profits from wind power. After 20 years, three million euros came back from a deposit of one million euros, he reports. The construction of the wind turbines runs through a participation model by the citizens, which has meanwhile been oversubscribed several times. Lawo: “The 371 artists won’t be able to invest as much as they actually want.” The wind turbines are in the nearby forest and don’t bother anyone. Lawo: “The hum of the transformers was by far the loudest audible noise. I’m no longer afraid of wind turbines. They don’t make any noise and work cleanly and reliably.”
Several rotors turn in Fuchstal im Wald.
(Photo: Catherine Hess)
Of course, visitors from the Würmtal community wonder whether the Fuchstal model can be applied to Planegg without further ado. That seems rather unlikely, at least at first glance: Fuchstal has space, Planegg doesn’t. In Fuchstal, 4,000 people live on 40 square kilometers, in Planegg more than 11,000 people live on just over ten square meters. The people of Fuchstal “hide” their wind turbines perfectly in their forests. Planegg is currently discussing installing a first wind turbine near the Lindau motorway – there is no room for more. With geothermal energy, things could be different. When the Würmtal communities work together, there are already first approaches to Gräfelfing or Gauting. “Close yourselves together on an intercommunal basis” – that is the advice from Erwin Karg. After the visit to Fuchstal, Angelika Lawo sees the first signs: “In our Planegger municipal council there is an alliance of fact-oriented openness across party lines. The atmosphere with municipal councils from almost all factions was focused on the topic.” And: “We have to cooperate closely with our neighbors.”
Peter von Schall-Riaucour sees it that way too. The municipal council of the “Pro Planegg & Martinsried” group is a member of the Bund Naturschutz. “The short trip showed me that we should think more about climate-neutral energy production due to the spatial conditions in the Würmtal region rather than locally,” he told the SZ. More than 200 meters high wind turbines in connection with 50 meter high towers with cameras for bird protection are probably “only useful in cooperation with the neighboring communities.” However, the findings from the visit are “extremely interesting.”