Energy transition in Hamburg: a successful case study for the USA From Hamburg to the World: high-ranking political delegation from the US visited Hamburg

On the invitation of the German Federal Foreign Office and the National Conference of State Legislators, a high-ranking political delegation from the USA travelled to Hamburg on 9 and 10 September 2024. The group was made up of 12 representatives from states in the West, Midwest and Rocky Mountains (Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming).

The aim of the fact-finding trip was to encourage dialogue about energy policy at subnational level. The EEHH Cluster Agency supported the German embassy in Washington, D.C. in designing the content of the visit programme, putting the US politicians in contact with local stakeholders from the public and private sectors. The focus of the talks was on Hamburg’s climate protection plan, grid expansion, hydrogen economy and the energy efficiency of data centres.

Hamburg’s climate protection plans

In Hamburg, the programme launched with a meeting with Lutz Strack, head of the department for energy law and urban energy policy in the Hamburg Authority for the Environment, Climate, Energy and Agribusiness (BUKEA). He explained in detail Hamburg’s political ambition for reaching the climate goals. Jan Rispens, CEO of the EEHH Cluster Agency, gave a presentation about the organisation’s strategy and tasks. In the subsequent discussion, participants discussed the levels of social acceptance of the energy transition in the two countries, and the photovoltaic expansion in Hamburg.

The city has committed itself to the Paris Climate Agreement and wants to become climate-neutral by 2045. More than 400 measures have been set out in the Hamburg climate plan, to ensure a profound transformation of multiple sectors. From district heating and gas mains to hydrogen, the expansion of renewable energies and necessary energy infrastructures play a central role in this.

Grid expansion – a key factor

Grid expansion comprises an important part of the German energy transition. Large volumes of wind power are generated in the north and at sea. This has to be transported to the south, sometimes over long distances, so that industrial customers and private consumers alike can benefit from secure and affordable energy.

Among the responsibilities of transmission system operator TenneT is the expansion and operation of high-voltage lines that connect offshore wind parks in the North Sea and the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Rene Hendricks, Senior Advisor Political Affairs, and Steffen Hinneburg, Advisor Offshore Development, explained the challenges that come with the renewables expansion with reference to statistics and the grid development plan. TenneT plans to increase grid capacity to 21.8GW by 2031 for Germany alone – roughly triple the current figure. The expert lecture also outlined the special technical features of the offshore grid connection. By the end of the decade, all offshore wind parks in the North Sea are to be built with a direct current (DC) grid connection system.

Bastian Pfarrherr, Head of Innovations at Hamburger Energienetze, described the challenges that the renewables expansion poses for Hamburg. Thanks to an increase in grid connection requests from projects such as e-mobility, heat pumps and photovoltaic systems, the peak grid load will increase to over 3,600MW by 2045. To ensure that grid infrastructure meets the rapidly increasing power demand levels, a major renewal and expansion of Hamburg’s energy grid systems by 2030 is being planned. The figures demonstrate the scale of the construction works: more than 4,000 system-kilometres of underground cable are being laid for different voltage levels.

Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub

The highlight of the first day of the visit was a trip to the Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub (HGHH) project. Hamburger Energiewerke and Luxcara are collaborating as part of a consortium to build a big production facility for green hydrogen on the site of the former Moorburg coal power station. Specifically, a 100MW electrolyser is being installed with a commissioning date of 2027 and a planned annual production volume of 10,000t of green hydrogen. The HGHH is the heart of the Hamburg hydrogen economy.

At a dialogue event with many colleagues from the two companies, the delegation learned the details of the plan. The former coal power station site is currently under construction. In the first phase, the works will make space for the 100MWG electrolyser, the gas grid transfer station and the trailer loading point. The second phase of the rebuilding works will enable a potential upscaling of capacity to 800MW. The conversion process is complex because there are plans for continued use of parts of the infrastructure on the site. After the plant is commissioned, HGHH will be connected to Hamburger Energienetze’s hydrogen industry grid, HH-WIN, which over the long term will in turn be integrated into the European Hydrogen Backbone. The visit to Moorburg ended with a guided tour.

Reception at US Consulate

To mark the high-ranking visit, Jason Chue, the US consul general in Hamburg, invited all supporting partners and other representatives of the Hamburg energy economy to a networking reception at his residence. In their speeches, Hamburg energy senator Jens Kerstan, Wayne Harper of the Utah State Senate and Jason Chue emphasised the importance of renewable energies within transatlantic cooperation.

Energy efficiency in data centres

The next morning, the US delegation visited the German Climate Computing Centre (DKRZ). The visualisation and outreach team, led by Michael Böttinger, offered an insight into energy efficiency in high-performance data centres.

As a central national service institution, DKRZ has been running “Levante”, the new high-performance data centre for climate and earth systems research and the fourth of its kind, since 2022. With computing power increasing over the years, the facility enables scientists to continually improve complex model calculations and to apply them to themes ranging from basic research to climate change projections.

An obligation to report power consumption and use of energy for cooling comes into force this year for data centres above a certain size. The “power usage effectiveness” (PUE) figure is considered the central factor. The DKRZ supercomputer system Levante is already reaching a significantly higher energy efficiency with a PUE factor of 1.095 (the statutory limit will be 1.3 from 2030). Use of waste heat is a fundamental activity within energy management at the DKRZ. Currently, around 20% of waste heat from operating the Levante supercomputer system is being reused. DKRZ wants to increase the proportion of waste heat that is reused, but faces regulatory hurdles.

In the concluding lecture, recent findings from research projects on energy efficiency in supercomputers were presented. At the end of the visit, the DKRZ team led the delegation through the computer room, data archive and “climate globe”.

The US delegation was visibly enthused about Hamburg’s visions for driving forward the energy transition and industrial transformation. The EEHH Cluster Agency is grateful to all its Hamburg partners for their support and contribution to making the visit programme a success.

Brief energy profile of the Mountain and West states of the USA

The western parts of the USA have excellent conditions for expanding and using renewable energies: plenty of wind, long hours of sun and vast expanses of land. But the current situation in the different states varies greatly. South Dakota is the frontrunner in renewable energy generation. Around 77% of its electricity is generated from wind and hydro. Wind energy makes up the bulk of this (55%). As of mid-2024, 24 onshore wind parks are in operation with an installed capacity of 3.2GW. Hydropower was a primary energy source until 2019, but since then has been playing only a subordinate role because of the severe drought in some parts of the state.

Other states such as Colorado, Nevada and Kansas are also pioneers of renewables. While around half of electricity in Kansas is generated by wind, solar is the most important renewable source in Nevada. Power consumption in Nevada often exceeds internal generation capacity, and additional electricity needs to come in via high-voltage lines from other states. Since 2014, two new transmission lines have been built in Nevada, with another line currently in the planning stage. When this is completed, it will transport renewable electricity from Wyoming to California and Arizona, as well as Nevada.

Information source: U.S. Energy Information Administration