Electricity and heat supply
The BTU has been using 100% green electricity on the central campus and in Sachsendorf since 2014. Since March 2019, the Senftenberg campus has also been supplied with 100% green electricity, so that the entire BTU is now supplied with renewable energy.
The BTU also generates its own renewable electricity with its own photovoltaic systems at the Senftenberg Campus and the Central Campus: at the Senftenberg Campus, the approx. 300 megawatt hours of PV energy are used in the buildings on campus. At the Central Campus, a PV system with an output of 100 kW Peak has been operated on the roof of the Research and Materials Testing Institute (FMPA) since 2011 as part of the e-Sol-Car research project. Together with a battery storage system with a usable capacity of 500 kW and 15 charging columns installed directly in front of the building, the PV system is used for research into the storage and recovery of renewable energy when operating electric cars.
In order to reduce electricity consumption, various energy efficiency measures are continuously implemented, including the ongoing conversion to LED lighting and the review and implementation of demand-responsive lighting in corridors and sanitary rooms (presence detectors).
The majority of the heat supply at the BTU is provided by district heating. The North Campus is heated regeneratively with a woodchip system, while Teaching Building 3E on the Central Campus is heated by a geothermal heat pump.
An overview of electricity and heat consumption can be found in the current environmental statement (actually only available in German).