Energy Transition
In the near future, the university will increasingly focus on producing its own electricity and heat from renewable power sources. For example, it aims to expand the area for photovoltaic systems, have a wind power plant built near campus and install a wood pellet system.
Existing photovoltaic systems
Currently, there are five photovoltaic systems on campus, generating about 170 MWh of electricity annually. This could supply over 40 single-family houses with electricity for a year. The solar modules already save the environment 65 tons of CO2 a year measured against the German electricity mix. In comparison, this is the amount caused by a passenger who flies from Frankfurt to New York City and back 24 times.
Ground-based photovoltaic system
A 14,000 m2 photovoltaic system with a peak power of 1.66 MWp is planned for 2024. It could cover about 5 % of the university’s electricity needs. If temporarily more electricity is generated than consumed, a battery storage system can absorb excess energy. The location is an area on Emil-Figge-Straße next to the HVDC test center, which will be prepared for it starting in October 2024.
Wood pellet heating system
For 2025, the launch of a wood pellet heating system with a rated thermal input of 2 MW is planned. TU Dortmund University also wants to rely on wood as a renewable resource in the future. Only sawdust produced as waste will be used as fuel. On one-third of the days of the year, this could completely cover the campus’s own heat requirements; on the colder days, natural gas would have to be used for additional heating.
Wind turbine
For 2028/29, the construction of a wind turbine is planned, which could probably generate 10,000 MWh per year accounting for 25% of TU Dortmund University’s own electricity demand. The planned wind turbine is to be about 110 meters high from the ground to the hub. A field at the South Campus, which the city of Dortmund has already designated as a concentration zone for wind turbines, is considered as a location.
Climate-friendly new building
The new building of the university library is designed as an “Effizienzgebäude 40” (efficiency building 40), i.e. the facility will consume only 40 percent of the standard defined by law today. It will be heated, among other things, by a heat pump that uses geothermal energy as a heat source and is powered by electricity from photovoltaics. In addition, the heat pump can also be used to generate cooling for indoor air in the summer. Completion is planned for 2028/29.
CO2 Balancing Tool
From 2024 onwards, TU Dortmund University will use a balancing tool to determine its CO2 emissions as part of the climate-neutral state administration of North Rhine-Westphalia. For this purpose, it is participating in a working group in which all universities of applied sciences and universities in NRW as well as the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Environment Agency are represented. The aim is for public bodies in NRW to be CO2-neutral by 2030.
The CO2 avoidance was calculated with data from the Federal Environment Agency on CO2 emissions for the German electricity mix in 2022 and the CO2 consumption for the production of a photovoltaic system that remains in operation for 30 years. The balance is even 80% better if it is assumed that photovoltaic electricity replaces coal-fired electricity. The data on flight emissions also come from the Federal Environment Agency.