Climate protection

The City has developed an integrated climate protection concept in cooperation with the consultancy firm Infas Enermetric, various players within the city and interested citizens. The concept was approved by the City Council of Monheim am Rhein on February 20, 2014 and has been the roadmap for climate protection ever since.

The integrated climate protection concept balances energy consumption and carbon emissions in the business, private households, transport and municipality sectors. It contains almost 40 steps that are aimed at reducing harmful carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by 2030. The individual projects are aimed, in particular, at increasing the share of renewable energies, reducing electricity and heat requirements, promoting climate-friendly means of transport and – with the support of public relations work – at informing and motivating people.

The climate protection measures promote climate-friendly action in these four areas:

• Modernization of existing buildings, e.g. with a "door-to-door" energy consultancy service or an overview of existing consultancy services in Monheim am Rhein
• Energy efficiency and renewable energies, e.g. by raising awareness for the "solar potential map" or optimizing the building management of public buildings
• Transport and mobility, e.g. by strengthening public transport, developing a concept to promote cycling and walking, converting street lighting to LED and expanding the Smart City project in general
• Public relations work, e.g. by expanding the internet presence and regularly reporting on the projects in the individual action areas

By taking an integrated approach, the concept goes beyond the sphere of influence of the City Administration and involves a wide range of players from the city area. The City Administration coordinates and monitors the implementation of the envisaged measures. The new position of Climate Protection Manager, which was filled on April 1, 2015, was created specifically for this purpose. The first initiatives, e.g. measures to promote cycling, climate protection action days and modernizing the street lighting had already begun or been carried out before.

The goal of the 2014 climate protection concept, which aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2030, was already achieved in 2018.

Climate protection was also considered when the art and music school was built. A gas absorption heat pump is used to supply the building with heat. This cuts carbon emissions by 25% compared to using a conventional gas boiler for heat supplying.

As with electricity-driven heat pumps, a gas absorption heat pump uses ambient heat from the outside air, the ground or ground water for heating purposes. However, instead of electricity, natural gas is used as the operating power. The use of natural gas is less harmful to the climate than electricity, because the combustion of one kWh of natural gas produces considerably less CO₂ than the generation of one kWh of electricity in a power plant. The installation of a photovoltaic system on the roof of the building is also planned.

As part of the National Climate Protection Initiative of the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU), the City of Monheim am Rhein uses energy-saving climate protection technologies.

The BMU subsidizes municipal climate protection projects by paying 20% of the construction costs if the new lamps reduce energy consumption by more than 70%. That is why only old globe lights (70 Watt NAH) are being replaced by new LED technology (18 to 34 Watt). Compared to sodium-vapor lamps (warm light) – which make up the majority of street lights in Monheim am Rhein – LED light diodes have many other advantages besides reducing the amount of electricity used. Color rendering at 4,000 Kelvin daylight, in particular, has been significantly improved.

2015 107 globe lights replaced, saving 224 tons of CO₂ over 10 years and 19,200 KW/h per year, subsidy of €10,500

2016 150 globe lights replaced, saving 315 tons of CO₂ over 10 years and 27,000 KW/h per year, subsidy of €12,000

2017 133 globe lights replaced, saving 281 tons of CO₂ over 10 years and 24,100 KW/h per year, subsidy of €12,500

2018 341 globe and mushroom lights – now also with night set-back – replaced, saving 815 tons of CO₂ over 10 years and 68,000 KW/h per year, subsidy of €33,120

2019 500 globe and mushroom lights replaced, savings 1,113 tons of CO₂ over 10 years and 94,100 KW/h per year, subsidy of €73,514. In addition, a further 250 LED lanterns were converted.

2020 Around 600 globe and mushroom lights replaced; the launch of the city-wide digital control of the lighting system is planned

The light color in Monheim, as per a light master plan for residential areas, is generally daylight white with 4.000 Kelvin due to its high color and facial recognition. Collector roads emit a warm light with 3.000 Kelvin, and former rural and county roads have a color temperature of 2.700 Kelvin.

Initiated and supported by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the National Climate Initiative has been promoting numerous projects since 2008 that contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Its programs and projects cover a wide range of climate protection activities, from the development of long-term strategies to practical assistance and investment support measures. This variety guarantees the creation of innovative concepts. The National Climate Initiative contributes to the integration of climate protection at the local level, benefiting consumers, businesses, municipalities, and educational institutions alike.