Mrs. Gaukler showed us around the bioenergy facility and explained in detail how it works. In general, bio mass is put into a fermenter under high pressure and airtightly closed to then produce bio gas. This gas then runs a turbine, which in turn drives an engine that creates electricity and heat. Interesting about the Lippertsreute facility is that it produces even more energy than needed by the village, and roughly half of the some 650 inhabitants actually do receive home-made green energy.

However, this trip was not just about seeing some smelly bio gas establishment, but also about experiencing the potential of renewable energies. Today, there are already about 30 bio energy villages which produce their energy entirely by themselves. Additionally, its company, the Solarcomplex Corporation, flourishes brightly, as it sees more and more projects ahead and could also pay a great dividend in the past fiscal year.

Despite of the amazing numbers the company is able to demonstrate, it is yet to see whether electricity produced by bio gas facilities will prevail in the future, as there is high competition on the market of renewable energies as well as that of fossil fuels or nuclear energy. All that can be said is that we’re already on a good way to sustainability, but there is still a lot of work to do to finally reach an energy turnaround towards renewables.