Memmingen honored: Pioneer in climate protection with European Energy Award!

Memmingen honored: Pioneer in climate protection with European Energy Award!

Bavaria's State Minister for the Environment and Consumer Protection, Thorsten Glauber, presented the “European Energy Award” to ten Bavarian municipalities in Buchloe. The city of Memmingen is also among those honored. Glauber particularly praised the city's solar offensive and its innovative approach to promoting renewable energy. “There’s something going on,” is what people say, not only in Bavaria, when it comes to climate protection. And Memmingen has taken a real step in the right direction with citizen participation in financing renewable energies.

The city plans to install several photovoltaic systems with a total output of two megawatts on city buildings in 2024, in collaboration with the Klimainitiative Memmingen e.V. “281 citizens took part in this project, which costs around 3 million euros,” reported Glauber. In addition, the city of Memmingen is providing the roofs for the new facilities through lease agreements for at least 20 years. Around 700 households are expected to benefit from these solar systems.

Innovative projects for the future

But Memmingen doesn't just score points when it comes to solar energy. The plans for a new combined bathroom, which is to be built to passive house standards, also show the city's commitment to sustainability. The heat requirements of the new floating structure are predominantly covered by a groundwater heat pump and a large photovoltaic system with a nominal output of 600 kW. Glauber emphasized that the additional costs for the high energy standard will be paid off within nine and a half years through lower energy costs.

The “European Energy Award” is not just a title, but a clear sign of the efforts of municipalities to achieve their climate goals. In order to receive the award, municipalities must achieve more than 40 percent of the possible points in various action-relevant areas. Memmingen scored 51.3 percent of the possible points in this evaluation, showing that the city has a good hand in the energy transition.

Energy future in Bavaria

It wasn't just Memmingen that was able to shine with this award. Other municipalities in the Allgäu, such as Buchloe, Oberreute and Wolfertschwenden, also show what is possible with the energy transition. Oberreute, for example, is relying on a photovoltaic offensive and battery storage, while Wolfertschwenden is ensuring sustainable mobility with a shuttle bus. The importance of the energy transition for climate protection and Bavaria's economic future was impressively emphasized by Glauber.

In a year in which the national sponsor of the German eea program has announced that it will temporarily discontinue the program at the end of the year, this award is even more important for the municipalities. The managing director of the Allgäu Energy and Environmental Center (eza!), Martin Sambale, announced that they were working on restructuring the program. “We have to set the course for the future, and the award-winning municipalities show that we are on the right path,” said Sambale.

The “European Energy Award” not only brings recognition, but also an incentive for other communities to increase their efforts in the area of ​​environmental protection. The award shows that it is possible to achieve a lot together and make a positive contribution to the energy transition.