Munich achieves green electricity goal: municipal utilities set standards for the future!

Munich achieves green electricity goal: municipal utilities set standards for the future!

The Stadtwerke München (SWM) has achieved its ambitious goal: from now on, they will generate as much green electricity as the city uses annually. Loud South German newspaper SWM currently produces 6.7 terawatt hours (TWh) of green electricity, which is more than the forecast 6.2 TWh for the current year. This remarkable achievement is the result of a consistent switch to renewable energies since 2009, when the city council set the course for this. At that time, green electricity production was only 0.4 TWh.

Florian Bieberbach, head of the SWM for 16 years, described the first city council resolution as an important contemporary document. The switch to green electricity was a real feat: 90% of the TWh produced now comes from wind power, mainly from Scandinavian regions and on the North Sea coast. As a reminder: in 2009, SWM's generation mix was heavily influenced by coal, natural gas and nuclear energy.

A look into the future

However, SWM not only looks back on the milestones achieved, but is also planning a further expansion offensive in the area of ​​renewable energies. Munich's increasing electricity demand, which is expected to rise to 6.8 TWh by 2030 and even to 8.2 TWh by 2040, requires additional measures. The expansion of renewables has been criticized in the past because many projects were implemented outside of Munich. So far, only 7.6% of SWM's green electricity is generated in Bavaria, despite almost 250 planned projects in the region.

The restructuring of energy production is comprehensive: the Isar 2 nuclear power plant is scheduled to be taken offline by the end of 2022 in order to further advance the switch to fossil fuels. So far, the share of electricity production from renewable energies has already reached 90%, a sharp increase from 5% in 2009. The municipal utilities have invested around 4.2 billion euros in this, of which 3.5 billion euros have already flowed back.

Current projects

The new projects include an open-field photovoltaic system in Zengermoos, which is expected to generate 44 GWh of green electricity per year. This facility will be put into operation this year. In addition, three new solar parks will be installed in Garching, Stachusried and Zengermoos, as well as a wind farm with six systems in Schernfeld by 2030. SWM is also involved in the offshore wind sector with a project in England and is planning wind projects in Rammertshofen, which are scheduled for completion in 2026.

SWM is not only focusing on increasing generation capacity, but also on customer service: various offers such as M-Ökostrom Regional and M-Solar Plus are intended to further support the energy transition. With an annual profit of an average of 130 million euros since 2020, the green electricity segment is a successful business area for München Stadtwerke and shows that sustainability and profitability can go hand in hand.

According to the SWM, the aim is to achieve complete climate neutrality by 2040 - five years earlier than the federal government. Developments in the coming years could therefore be decisive for how Munich is positioned when it comes to climate protection and energy supply. Comprehensive measures in the transport transition, such as e-buses and charging infrastructure, are also being pushed forward. Now it remains exciting to see how the energy transition continues to unfold in our beautiful city.