14 Small-Scale System Solutions—Material Flow Management …
283
14.3 Sustainable (Bio)energy Villages and Communities
Following the example of ECB and partially motivated by its success, many communities in Germany have begun implementing similar strategies based on the idea
of the CE and MFM. Communities all over the world face a multitude of critical
socioeconomic and environmental issues in this energy-climate era due to their fossilbased primary energy use and their unsustainable land use patterns. Tackling these
issues at the smallest political entity—the village—was envisioned and pioneered in
Germany, where material and energy flow optimisation has taken the lead in creating
self-sufficient and sustainable villages.
9 The bulk of the energy needs of these “sustainable villages” come from locally available, renewable energies like biomass,
wind and solar power.
Due to the limited availability of biomass, more and more villages are relying
on solar and wind resources for their energy supply (accordingly, the prefix bio is
parenthesised in the terminology). As noted above, this original concept has since
evolved to an advanced state where (bio) energy villages (BEV) tend to fulfil all their
own energy needs, such as electricity, heating and cooling, and transportation from
regionally available renewable energy (REN) sources such as wind, solar power,
hydropower, and geothermal sources, as well as biomass; this makes them selfsufficient in terms of energy as well as independent from the national grids. Moreover,
this initiative puts great emphasis on developing the land used for harnessing new
sources of energy in a way that keeps resilience and biodiversity in mind.
Sustainable energy development is crucial to developing a BEV where regional
added value, stemming from regional material flow management (rMFM), plays a
pivotal role in achieving more general sustainability goals. The energy autonomy
characteristic of BEVs is due not only to their high utilisation of regional renewable
energy sources, but also to their high energy conversion and use efficiencies. In addition, features such as integrated water management, sustainable agriculture through
sustainable soil management, and the use of bio-fertiliser and soil amendments—
such as biochar—are integral parts of its design fabric. The (re)circulation of material and energy flows in a BEV unleashes enormous regional potential, referred to as
regional added value (RAV), which would be otherwise unutilised or underutilised.
Key elements of RAV include (but are not limited to) the reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions (GHG); the creation of new products and services; the creation of
employment opportunities; the reduction of the emigration of vital human resources;
the reduction of environmental degradation and the loss of biodiversity; and the
preservation of cultural heritage and indigenous knowledge by integrating them into
the system.
In summary, BEVs based on zero emission strategies are much more than simply
a new approach in environmental and climate protection. They provide the basis for
9 There are about 150 established (bio)energy villages and another 43 under development in Germany
under the FNR initiative. (See further details at https://bioenergiedorf.fnr.de/bioenergiedoerfer/
liste/). Furthermore, the IfaS alone is currently in the process of developing another 94 new
(bio)energy villages.
283
14.3 Sustainable (Bio)energy Villages and Communities
Following the example of ECB and partially motivated by its success, many communities in Germany have begun implementing similar strategies based on the idea
of the CE and MFM. Communities all over the world face a multitude of critical
socioeconomic and environmental issues in this energy-climate era due to their fossilbased primary energy use and their unsustainable land use patterns. Tackling these
issues at the smallest political entity—the village—was envisioned and pioneered in
Germany, where material and energy flow optimisation has taken the lead in creating
self-sufficient and sustainable villages.
9 The bulk of the energy needs of these “sustainable villages” come from locally available, renewable energies like biomass,
wind and solar power.
Due to the limited availability of biomass, more and more villages are relying
on solar and wind resources for their energy supply (accordingly, the prefix bio is
parenthesised in the terminology). As noted above, this original concept has since
evolved to an advanced state where (bio) energy villages (BEV) tend to fulfil all their
own energy needs, such as electricity, heating and cooling, and transportation from
regionally available renewable energy (REN) sources such as wind, solar power,
hydropower, and geothermal sources, as well as biomass; this makes them selfsufficient in terms of energy as well as independent from the national grids. Moreover,
this initiative puts great emphasis on developing the land used for harnessing new
sources of energy in a way that keeps resilience and biodiversity in mind.
Sustainable energy development is crucial to developing a BEV where regional
added value, stemming from regional material flow management (rMFM), plays a
pivotal role in achieving more general sustainability goals. The energy autonomy
characteristic of BEVs is due not only to their high utilisation of regional renewable
energy sources, but also to their high energy conversion and use efficiencies. In addition, features such as integrated water management, sustainable agriculture through
sustainable soil management, and the use of bio-fertiliser and soil amendments—
such as biochar—are integral parts of its design fabric. The (re)circulation of material and energy flows in a BEV unleashes enormous regional potential, referred to as
regional added value (RAV), which would be otherwise unutilised or underutilised.
Key elements of RAV include (but are not limited to) the reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions (GHG); the creation of new products and services; the creation of
employment opportunities; the reduction of the emigration of vital human resources;
the reduction of environmental degradation and the loss of biodiversity; and the
preservation of cultural heritage and indigenous knowledge by integrating them into
the system.
In summary, BEVs based on zero emission strategies are much more than simply
a new approach in environmental and climate protection. They provide the basis for
9 There are about 150 established (bio)energy villages and another 43 under development in Germany
under the FNR initiative. (See further details at https://bioenergiedorf.fnr.de/bioenergiedoerfer/
liste/). Furthermore, the IfaS alone is currently in the process of developing another 94 new
(bio)energy villages.