New service added to electricity, gas and water
The City of Lüdenscheid’s utilities company, Stadtwerke Lüdenscheid (a company belonging to the ENERVIE Group), began 2021 by extending its range of services for its customers. Besides offering electricity, gas and drinking water, it is now also delivering district heat to Lüdenscheid-Wehberg, which has had access to district heat since 1969. This new service was made possible as Fernwärmeversorgung Niederrhein – the company which had previously been responsible for this task – had sold all of its technical facilities and its customer base to Stadtwerke Lüdenscheid.
A sensible extension to the portfolio
As far as the ENERVIE Group is concerned, it made to sense to acquire this business as it has helped to round off its portfolio. Board spokesperson, Erik Höhne, commented: “This purchase is a further milestone in our regional strategy. The environmentally friendly supply of district heat based on natural gas and the cogeneration of heat and power is an important business for our Group – especially as we already operate district heat networks in nearby Hagen and Herdecke. It’s great that we have been given this opportunity to supply heat to our customers in Lüdenscheid as well.”
“Being a regional provider of electricity, gas, water and heat, Stadtwerke Lüdenscheid has been interested in taking over the district heat supply in Lüdenscheid-Wehberg for a long while now.”
Volker Neumann, the future managing director of Stadtwerke Lüdenscheid
15 gigawatt hours of heat every year
Besides purchasing the infrastructure from Wärmeversorgung Niederrhein, Stadtwerke Lüdenscheid has also taken over all of its 320 customers. When he signed the contract on 17 December 2020, Volker Neumann, the future managing director of Stadtwerke Lüdenscheid, was grateful to have finally fulfilled a long-standing wish: “Being a regional provider of electricity, gas, water and heat, Stadtwerke Lüdenscheid has been interested in taking over the district heat supply in Lüdenscheid-Wehberg for a long while now.” This 10.4km network is supplied with district heat by a combined heat and power (CHP) plant, which has two boilers and an electrical output of 500kW and a thermal output of 560kW. Each year, this system is able to supply around 15 gigawatt hours of heat to its customers.
The challenge of the energy transition
The ENERVIE Group, in which REMONDIS Wasser Energie is one of the main shareholders alongside the City of Hagen and the City of Lüdenscheid, is pursuing its goal of driving forward the energy transition in its region. The local generation of district heat is an important cornerstone in this strategy as it is both efficient and environmentally friendly. Not only is it a clean solution, it is also a reliable source of energy with low operating and maintenance costs.
The CHP plant used to supply Lüdenscheid-Wehberg is particularly efficient as it simultaneously generates electricity and heat from natural gas. This considerably reduces its carbon footprint – also in comparison to oil, gas and wood pellet heating systems.
Signing the contract on 17 December 2020 at Stadtwerke Lüdenscheid’s offices (from right to left): Volker Neumann, future managing director of Stadtwerke Lüdenscheid, Erik Höhne, ENERVIE Board Spokesperson, Dr Daniel Dierich, Authorised Signatory/Commercial Manager of Stadtwerke Dinslaken, (seated), Tobias Schwermer, Authorised Signatory and Head of Sales/Legal at Stadtwerke Dinslaken (standing)
Making the most of synergies
Integrating Fernwärme Lüdenscheid-Wehberg into the ENERVIE Group’s supply network has brought benefits for everyone. Stadtwerke Lüdenscheid has further strengthened its position on its local market and can use the already established sales and customer service structures. At the same time, it can make the most of the ENERVIE Group’s comprehensive know-how, gained from operating the district heat networks in Hagen and Herdecke for so many years. Both the customers and shareholders will benefit from the business and technical synergies. As, of course, will the climate.
Image credits: image 1, 3: Adobe Stock: 285615237, creator: slavun; image 2: © REMONDIS
