Brief profile
As a municipal, certified utility company for electricity, gas, water and heat, Stadtwerke Heide GmbH supplies around 35,000 residents, households and businesses and operates a gas grid with a length of some 400 km. The company brings together expertise in network operation, heat generation and supply, storage and integration of renewable energies, end-customer billing, regulatory grid usage charges and the supply of liquid fuels and natural gas. The municipal utility is a partner in the QUARREE100 project, and, in addition to the existing networks, is responsible for data analysis, the processing of data relating to electricity, gas and water consumption, and for information concerning the status and performance capabilities of the infrastructure.
A further goal is successfully to replace fossil natural gas by low-carbon or neutral alternatives in the medium term in order to permit the continued use of today’s natural gas networks. An all-electric variant is unworkable – both in rural areas and in the towns – in particular because of the enormous demand for heat in the winter months. Any future solution in the context of the energy transition that does not include the natural gas grids would cast aside a vast national asset, since the majority of the networks are owned by municipal enterprises. This is what makes increasing hydrogen tolerance in the natural gas grids and mixing in green hydrogen or synthetic natural gas, both of which are considerably easier to store than electricity, the best option for the future. By taking part in the Westküste100 real-world laboratory project, therefore, we are embarked upon a truly visionary path with some extremely expert partners. www.stadtwerke-heide.de