An entire CO2-free city by 2030

GREEN Solar and Siemens Energy sign an agreement to develop the concept in Herzogenrath, with 46,000 residents, in the Cologne region, Germany.


When planning, building and operating a renewable energy farm in the area of ​​sand miner Nivelsteiner Sandwerke, the city of Herzogenrath plans to meet its energy demand with zero CO2 emissions by 2030. A cooperation agreement between GREEN Solar Herzogenrath GmbH and Recently signed Siemens Energy provides for the development of an economically viable concept for submitting from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia to the German federal government and the European Union, with a view to obtaining project funding for this former mining region located between Aachen, in Germany, and the Netherlands.

Built on a solar farm already operated by GREEN Solar, the project involves, among other things, the expansion of solar energy generation and the construction of several wind turbines. The energy generated from renewable sources will be stored and, in periods when there is no production from the sun and wind, converted into electricity and supplied to consumers in Herzogenrath, a city of 46 000 inhabitants. The heat produced by these processes, as well as that generated from renewable sources, will be used to provide local families with “green” heat through district heating networks.

The "CO2-free Herzogenrath" conceptual project envisages not only making the generated electricity available to city homes, but also enabling its use for the growing number of electric vehicles. Local industrial companies must also be incorporated into the project through decarbonisation activities.

Specifically, the concept aims to provide the most energy efficient connection, with the most economical combination of solar power plants, wind turbines, batteries, cogeneration (CHP) and combined cycle plants, as well as heat storage systems and hydrogen. This also includes all logistics to transport energy to end users, based on their demand.

A hydrogen production facility is also under construction. With the help of Siemens' Silyzer 300 technology, the excess electricity will be converted into hydrogen by electrolysis, and then stored or used for car operation. This hydrogen can also be used to “decarbonize” trucks, buses, trains and industrial plants - for example, by Nivelsteiner Sandwerke, for drying sand without CO2 emissions.

"The energy farm may be operated by an operating company yet to be established by GREEN Solar", comment Franz-Josef Türck-Hövener and Charles Russel, directors of GREEN Solar, in a joint statement. "Not only will the Herzogenrath Energy Farm be an important and sustainable step towards successful structural changes in the region, but it will also make the city known nationally and internationally as a precursor and technological leader in the transition to a new energy mix". For Siemens project manager Thomas Neuenhahn, "this is a 'beacon' project for a successful energy transition in Germany, which has international appeal". Siemens Energy is expected to provide the project with flexible and decentralized energy solutions, such as battery storage to balance supply and demand and hydrogen generation technologies.

GREEN Solar Herzogenrath belongs to the energy and water company EWV Energie- und Wasser-Versorgung GmbH and N.S.W. Energy GmbH (subsidiary of the mining company Nivelsteiner Sandwerke und Sandsteinbrüche GmbH), as well as the city of Herzogenrath. GREEN Solar operates in the city which is the largest photovoltaic plant in North Rhine-Westphalia, with a capacity of more than 14 MW, supplying energy to more than 4500 families.