The Scharnhauser Park Power Plant
A view of the power plant!
On Friday, January 18, my classmates and I met our professor at the Scharnhauser Park Power Plant pictured to the left. It does not look like any power plant I have seen before, but maybe because the technology is among the first of its kind. Scharnhauser Park was occupied by the US military until 1992. The goal of the Scharnhauser Park project is to utilize cutting edge technology and show that a town can successfully operate without a dependency on fossil fuels.
The area of Sharnhauser Park is about 15 minutes south of Stuttgart, near Essligen. The town is probably the size of Oak Forest, yet it is perhaps one of the most environmentally conscious towns in Germany. Almost all aspects of life in this town revolve around sustainability: construction, economics, business, education and culture. The town utilizes solar, geo, water and solid biomass forms of renewable energy. This power plant in particular uses biomass from wood chips.
Because of the military presence, the buildings are already equipped with a heating system. The central heating system combined with a local heating network is not typically used in most buildings in Germany, so the US provided this town with a great advantage. The Power Plant used this existing infrastructure and enables all buildings to utilize this environmentally friendly technology.
The area of Sharnhauser Park is about 15 minutes south of Stuttgart, near Essligen. The town is probably the size of Oak Forest, yet it is perhaps one of the most environmentally conscious towns in Germany. Almost all aspects of life in this town revolve around sustainability: construction, economics, business, education and culture. The town utilizes solar, geo, water and solid biomass forms of renewable energy. This power plant in particular uses biomass from wood chips.
Because of the military presence, the buildings are already equipped with a heating system. The central heating system combined with a local heating network is not typically used in most buildings in Germany, so the US provided this town with a great advantage. The Power Plant used this existing infrastructure and enables all buildings to utilize this environmentally friendly technology.
The huge crane from far away
The system works by having 25 trucks the size of a typical garbage truck bring biomass to the power plant each week. In the summer, only 2 garbage trucks are needed to supply the entire town with sufficient energy! Usually, the biomass consists of scraps of wood. In the winter season, a lot of the biomass is old christmas trees! The reason using scrap wood and trees is such a great idea is because allowing these trees to decay naturally actually releases a fair amount of CO2 into the atmosphere. This process simply uses the CO2 for a positive reason and then filters the exhaust into pure air.
The truck then dumps the scrap wood into a loading zone. A huge crane then automatically retrieves the biomass from the loading zone and brings it over the enormous concrete wall to the storage container. Theoretically, no one has to be inside the power plant to monitor this process. Every part of the production line is computer operated; if any part of the system were to malfunction, the computer automatically sends a message to the control operator's cell phone. Then, a member of the maintenance team would go inspect the root of the problem. The floor of the storage container is constantly moving so that it can supply the furnace with the perfect amount of biomass needed for energy production. Because the amount of inputs used is measured by a computer, there is less room for human error and the waste that comes along with it.
Not only is this plant energy efficient, but it is also resource efficient. The plant emits virtually no noise, light, or harmful toxins and also utilizes solar panels for internal lighting. This means that it is very suitable for use in neighborhoods and communities. Less human capital is another added bonus to operate this plant; labor costs are very low.
This production system provides the entire town with 80% of its heating energy and 50% of its electrical energy.
The truck then dumps the scrap wood into a loading zone. A huge crane then automatically retrieves the biomass from the loading zone and brings it over the enormous concrete wall to the storage container. Theoretically, no one has to be inside the power plant to monitor this process. Every part of the production line is computer operated; if any part of the system were to malfunction, the computer automatically sends a message to the control operator's cell phone. Then, a member of the maintenance team would go inspect the root of the problem. The floor of the storage container is constantly moving so that it can supply the furnace with the perfect amount of biomass needed for energy production. Because the amount of inputs used is measured by a computer, there is less room for human error and the waste that comes along with it.
Not only is this plant energy efficient, but it is also resource efficient. The plant emits virtually no noise, light, or harmful toxins and also utilizes solar panels for internal lighting. This means that it is very suitable for use in neighborhoods and communities. Less human capital is another added bonus to operate this plant; labor costs are very low.
This production system provides the entire town with 80% of its heating energy and 50% of its electrical energy.