Exhibition on the Turn of Energy Policies and Wind Power in Baar: bifa Umweltinstitut

The next stage of public participation in the BMBF "Lokale Passung" (local fit) project for the Baar, Thierhaupten, Münster and Holzheim municipalities was heralded with an exhibition on the turn of energy policies, on Saturday, 12 July. Since the end of July, all households in these four communities have also been surveyed.

More than 140 visitors took the opportunity to find out about different technical solutions such as wind power, photovoltaics and increasing energy efficiency. With the engineers of bifa Umweltinstitut, the visitors were able to sit at computer terminals and develop their own plan for their local community's turn of energy policies or watch 3D simulations to get an impression of the effects that wind turbines have on the landscape. In addition, posters provided information, for example, on opportunities for public participation, the legal basis of the planning and the rights and duties of investors.

The exhibition was also the kick-off point for the household surveys, which started at the end of July: These will not only collect information on the population's attitude to the turn in energy policies, but also data on energy consumption, e.g. in relation to building characteristics, the condition of the heating systems or local consumer behaviour. This information can be used to calculate current and future demand and specific savings potential can also be identified.

In the next step, the results will be presented in stakeholder workshops and public participation workshops – with the objective of developing appropriate local concepts for energy supply together with interested members of the public. Within the scope of this project, the project partners, LMU and bifa, can also assist the local communities with the implementation of such concepts.