University and cdw Foundation extend cooperation agreement

In 2017, the foundation and the university agreed to work together for an initial period of ten years and a grant of 1 million euros, with the aim of installing one megawatt of PV capacity. However, the university has already achieved the expansion targets after eight years and has installed 14 systems with a module output of just under 1 MWp. With the PV systems installed to date, the University of Kassel generates around 820,000 kWh of electricity per year. This amount is enough to supply around 230 single-family homes with electricity for a year. This makes the university the university with the highest production of PV electricity in Hesse.

Nevertheless, there is great potential for further installations. The university expects to be able to roughly double the module output without feeding surplus electricity into the public grid. The expansion potential could be further increased with electricity storage and electricity transmission from site to site. As the first project under the new contract, the university is planning another system on the Engineering Sciences III building.

"It was not only Russia's major attack on Ukraine that showed us how dependent Germany is on foreign energy," commented the Chancellor of the University of Kassel, Dr. Oliver Fromm. "Especially in these financially very difficult times for the university, this support is very valuable. We would not be able to afford this from our own resources in the foreseeable future. This is a contribution to climate protection, but also to our economic independence in energy supply. The University of Kassel shows that public institutions can also lead the way here."

The systems installed with the support of the cdw Foundation generate renewable electricity, all of which is consumed in the university's buildings. The university invests the electricity costs saved in further PV systems or in energy efficiency projects (so-called "intracting"). This will enable it to invest around 160,000 euros a year in further measures to promote climate protection and become independent of external energy supplies.

"Intracting combines ecological responsibility with economic sustainability," says Thomas Flügge, Managing Director of the cdw Foundation. "By reinvesting the energy costs saved in further PV systems and energy efficiency projects, a self-reinforcing cycle is created that permanently improves the university's energy and CO₂ balance. Intracting can become a driver of climate-neutral building management and offers considerable potential for local authorities, public and private stakeholders - in the spirit of a genuine local energy transition."

One of the aims of the cdw Foundation is to drive forward the energy transition in northern Hesse. It was established by Dr.-Ing. Günther Cramer, Peter Drews and Reiner Wettlaufer, the founders of SMA Solar Technology AG.