The Research Centre for Municipal Energy Management (FKE) at the Institute for Infrastructure and Resource Management analyzes the ongoing structural change in the energy industry and develops strategies in dialogue with municipal energy suppliers so that they can fulfil their role as "managers of the local energy transition" and at the same time continue to fulfil their mission of ensuring services of general interest in an economically stable manner.
Duration: 06/2009 - 12/2022
Funding source: VerbundnetzGas AG, Stadtwerke Leipzig GmbH
Participating organiszational units of UL: Chair for Energy Managment and Sustainability
FKE: Research Centre for Municipal Energy Management
Background
Due to the expected decline in the core business, the structural change in the energy industry associated with the energy transition requires municipal energy suppliers to comprehensively realign their business activities in the context of advancing liberalization and deregulation, which will lead to more competition in trading and sales:
Decarbonization requires a change in the generation structure, which is characterized by a reduction in the area of conventional condensing power plants and an expansion in the area of efficient CHP and the use of renewable energies. The integration of the growing share of renewable energies requires an expansion of the distribution grids and the provision of flexibility to compensate for the temporal variability associated with the use of wind and solar energy. The low wholesale prices and increasing competition in sales mean that declining earnings are expected in these areas of the core business. New opportunities will arise in the area of energy-related services - at least if the resulting revenue opportunities are exploited as part of the digitalization of the energy transition and not left to competitors from outside the sector. The expected decentralization can be advantageous for local municipal utilities, but it does not have to be. The associated risks must be assessed and the opportunities proactively exploited.
Project objective
FKE also views municipal energy supply as part of the municipal infrastructure, which can make a significant contribution to sustainable urban development through digitalization and cross-sector integration. Collaboration in the development and implementation of "Smart City" approaches is therefore also part of FKE's range of services.
Approach
FKE aims to contribute innovative impulses to these development processes. This takes place within the framework of projects that are carried out in cooperation with energy supply companies, state institutions and industry associations. As the topics mentioned touch on various scientific disciplines (social sciences, economics and engineering), the research center pursues an interdisciplinary approach.
Benefits
The areas of expertise of the Research Center for the Municipal Energy Sector (FKE) lie in the practice-oriented application of various approaches and methods to issues relating to the municipal energy sector. Both socio-economic and techno-economic approaches, or combinations of these two approaches, can play a role here. In addition, predictive analyses, analyses of value chains and/or the profitability of business models are often important in the energy industry. The results of these analyses are in turn incorporated into models that allow an integrated view of the behavior of energy systems or of assets.
Projects
Since 2009, the Research Center for the Municipal Energy Sector (FKE) has initiated and carried out various projects in the areas of expertise described. These projects have been carried out for energy supply companies, state institutions and industry associations. The following pages describe a selection of these projects.
Paths to energy-efficient urban modernity - development of an actor-oriented municipal energy management system in the town of Delitzsch
In the first phase of the BMBF competition "Energy-efficient city", 72 consortia submitted their project ideas (outline of ideas, 04-08/2008). From these, 15 projects were selected for further funding to complete their concepts (concept phase, 09/2009 - 05/2010). In this phase, too, the consortium around the Research Center for Municipal Energy Management (FKE) was able to prevail against other cities. The third phase of the competition covers a period of six years. In this final phase, each of the five winning consortia will receive up to 1 million euros per year to further advance the award-winning approaches and test their practical suitability (implementation phase, 06/2011 - 05/2017).
More
The City of Leipzig is a partner in the "Triangulum" project consortium. It is one of three projects selected in the Europe-wide "Horizon 2020 Smart Cities and Communities" competition, which are funded by the EU Commission as transnational lighthouse projects. The consortium consists of 22 project partners from six countries and is being funded with a total of 25 million euros.
The collective term "Smart City" refers to development concepts that aim to make cities more efficient, technologically advanced, future-proof and socially inclusive. Sustainable smart city concepts combine technical, economic and social innovations. The aim of the project is to develop and derive Europe-wide transferable smart city strategies. The Triangulum consortium is led by the Fraunhofer IAO with the support of the Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum. As part of a five-year implementation process, the three "lighthouse cities" (Eindhoven, Manchester, Stavanger) will implement their existing smart city district concepts together with cooperating companies and research institutions. The so-called "follower cities" (Leipzig, Prague, Sabadell) are developing their own concrete implementation plans in a joint exchange of experience, with a view to becoming "lighthouse cities" at a later date.
The project was divided into three working formats: future forums, future labs and labs in the district. While the future forums serve as a source of inspiration and mediator between urban planning, civil society and companies, the future labs are intended to hold technical discussions and identify areas of innovation. The labs in the neighborhood serve to actively involve and inform the neighborhood and to activate local stakeholders.
Together with the Institute for Urban Development and Construction (ISB) at Leipzig University, the Research Center for Municipal Energy Management (FKE) is involved in the implementation of the future labs. The FKE is responsible for managing the "Energy" working group. For the west of Leipzig, areas of innovation are being promoted with the local economy to accelerate the transformation to a smart city.
