The Solar Trail
Just for once, this is a trail that takes us outside the Gelsenkirchen city boundary. Solar energy should be thought of in terms of regional networks. In recent years, what was once a "solar triangle" has been transformed into a "solar polygon" unlike any other in Germany, with Gelsenkirchen forming its central nucleus. When North Rhine-Westphalia registered this focus on solar power as one of the state's key projects at the Expo 2000 world fair in Hannover, it really put the issue on the world map.
That's why Gelsenkirchen is increasingly spoken of as the solar capital of Germany.
Gelsenkirchen and the Emscher region are undergoing a remarkable transformation. The rapid industrialisation witnessed in the second half of the nineteenth century was not historically unique in forcing people to make drastic changes in the way they coped with everyday life (immigrants brought up in the countryside having to adapt to town life and learn new trades in tough conditions, for instance). The withdrawal of heavy industry from the region since the sixties will for the foreseeable future continue to necessitate the kind of reorientation that would have been equally unthinkable to generations of workers. Up until just a few years ago, it was expected that sons would follow in the footsteps of their fathers and grandfathers before them down the mines. Those days are over, not least because German coal lies so deep below the surface as to make mining it economically unviable on an international market. Plans are afoot to open a mine to visitors, so that this formative time for Gelsenkirchen can be kept alive for tourists and future generations.
The Emscher Park International Building Exhibition (IBE), a regional government regeneration initiative, attempted between the years of 1989 and 1999 to demonstrate examples of how land no longer needed by heavy industry could be revitalised. One possible solution was to latch on to existing capabilities and develop them further, in order to open up new markets for the future. The town and region had grown up around coal, a raw material needed to provide energy. A wealth of experience and expertise already abounded in this sphere. It was therefore only natural to keep energy and electricity production in mind while treading new paths.
The glass industry is one of the long-established building blocks that make up Gelsenkirchen. Almost every second pane of glass produced in Germany once came from here. These days, the plate-glass manufacturer Pilkington in the district of Rotthausen, is home to a high-grade centre of production under the auspices of Pilkington Solar International, a company involved alongside Shell in the new solar factory, albeit to a decidedly lesser extent. The electrical industry, electrical trade and the considerable advances made in technical colleges have together provided a sufficient basis of knowledge to launch a solar initiative. It's as if solar cells and solar technology are forging new world markets right here in the heart of the Ruhr.
The Solar Trail shows us that this is going on in precisely the places where miners used to go underground to dig up coal, and where it was then processed into the more valuable fuel coke.
This change is reflected in the area's new, exciting architecture. Modern "palaces" certainly need not fear comparison with the architectural achievements of the last hundred years.
You'll probably already have noticed from the relatively clean air that the thousand fires which folklore has it once burned here have been extinguished - to be replaced by the interim goal of a thousand solar panels.
The Solar Trail will take you on a journey into a new age of energy.
The Photovoltaic Information Centre
This trail sets off from the Shell Solar Deutschland information centre in the city district of Rotthausen, on the site once occupied by the plate glass company. The outside of the building alone, with its futuristic architecture, is impressive. In the adjoining solar cell factory, even in these early stages of the project, enough solar cells are already being produced each year to supply several thousand households. Capacity is still being developed, with talk of an eventual annual production of more than 25 megawatts. It is at present the world's largest solar production facility, and the hope is to create several hundred further jobs in the area around the Rotthausen site.
Inside the centre, multimedia facilities give information on the uses of solar (photovoltaic) energy, its potential applications, how it is produced, characteristics of the process and ways of financing production.
Armed with this essential information, you'll be ready to head straight for Gelsenkirchen Science Park, where energy is produced using roof-mounted solar modules.
Photovoltaic Information Centre (PiZ)
Am Dahlbusch
45884 Gelsenkirchen
Tel.: 0209/12 02-0
E-mail: info@shell-solar-piz.de
Internet: www.shell-solar-piz.de
Internet: www.solarstadt-gelsenkirchen.de
Travel by S-Bahn (urban railway):
Line S2
Alight at Gelsenkirchen-Rotthausen station
Travel by bus:
Line 340
Alight at Schonnebecker Strasse bus stop
Line 348
Alight at Auf der Reihe bus stop
Line 381
Alight at Karl-Meyer-Strasse bus stop
Gelsenkirchen Science Park - the birthplace of solar energy in the Ruhr
Gelsenkirchen Science Park, one of the most prominent projects arising from the Emscher Park International Building Exhibition of 1989 to 1999, has developed on a former steelworks site at the heart of an area that grew up around the rapid industrialisation of the late nineteenth century. The construction, which has won an award for its architecture, boasts a captivating 300 metre-long glass arcade set in a landscaped park with water features. No one would guess from looking at it that steel was produced here until 1985. Today, potential developments are researched from a custom-built office, while issues surrounding production and technology are dealt with by scientists at a separate institute. Effective solutions for refurbishing the sewer network are also sounded out and piloted from here.
The Institute of Applied Photovoltaics researches potential techniques for the use of sunlight as a source of energy. The onset of the solar age in the Ruhr was heralded back in 1996 when the institute installed a huge solar roof panel.
Additional institutes, an online bookstore and various media operations are all further examples of the wide range of activities undertaken. In addition, the science centre is also to be recommended as a conference venue, and is used for meetings by well known politicians, business people and public figures.
The building can be reached from Munscheidstrasse. Combine your visit with a walk through our parkland surroundings amid their relaxing water features. This local landmark is lit up at night with impressive blue and green floodlights. The administrative offices of the former steelworks next door are a listed building, forming a lasting monument to the heavy industry of days gone by. Today, the building is still in use by the Gelsenkirchen employment courts. It is well worth taking a look inside on weekdays to see the intricate interior decoration. A flight of stairs, adorned with black marble, leads the way up to an inner courtyard with a glazed skylight, which gives on to the individual rooms.
Panorama image: Science Park
Science Park
Munscheidstrasse 14
45886 Gelsenkirchen
Tel.: +49 209/1670
E-mail: info@wipage.de
Internet: www.wipage.de
Travel by tram:
Line 302
Alight at Wissenschaftspark (Science Park) tram stop
Travel by bus:
Line 385
Alight at Wissenschaftspark (Science Park) bus stop
Line 389
Alight at Rheinelbestrasse bus stop
Mont-Cenis Academy of Further Education
The heart was ripped out of the district of Sodingen, in the city of Herne, when the Mont Cenis pit was closed in 1978. But in the course of the Emscher Park International Building Exhibition between 1989 and 1999, another project that garnered much attention was implemented when the Ministry of the Interior in the Ruhr moved to set up its Academy of Further Education here. Around 12,000 men and women every year now come here to continue their education and take on the future challenges of efficient business management, whilst contributing towards strengthening the local economy.
A total of 250 new flats in the surrounding area, a new marketplace and facilities open to the public within the academy building are together revitalising and breathing new life into the district.
Considered in isolation, that's perhaps not so spectacular. What's more interesting is the innovative, future-oriented design and "packaging". A kind of house-within-a-house construction creates new kinds of requirements. There are drawn-out rows of buildings which are shaped differently according to their various uses. A library has moved into one shaped like a bowling pin. Another unites recreation rooms with a restaurant under a single vaulted roof. The other buildings with seminar rooms and accommodation facilities tower up like a ship's prow, and the surrounding footbridges recall a ship's rail. Wood sets the tone as the basic material used for the buildings' external decoration. Water is used as a design feature to separate the two drawn-out complexes from each other.
The "packaging" is quite unusual. It is made up of an enormous glass cover with numerous openings that together control the condition of the air in the space below. Wind and storms may be raging outside the covering; inside, however, irrespective of the wind and rain, it is possible to sit beside the water and still enjoy the feeling of being outside, because so much light enters the building. The effect of clouds is produced by filling in sections of the glass with solar cells.
The microclimate is similar to that of Nice. During the winter months, huge palm trees give the place a Mediterranean flair. The project was implemented along similar lines to existing European research projects.
Photovoltaic elements (solar cells) with a maximum output of up to 1 MWp (peak megawatt) and 750,000 kWh/a (kilowatt hours per annum) - more than double the complex's own electricity requirement - are built into the 176m long, 72m wide and 15m high microclimatic covering. The valuable excess solar electricity is stored in a battery system.
At a neighbouring combined heat and power plant, gases from disused mineshafts are put to environmentally friendly uses. The plant generates both electricity and heat, and prevents around 20,000 tonnes of harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from being released into the atmosphere. Among all these facts and figures, one thing will stick in visitors' minds - the incomparable architecture, complemented by an oval park. The view from inside stretches far into the distance.
Mont-Cenis Academy of Further Education
Mont-Cenis-Platz 1
44627 Herne
Tel.: +49 2323/96 76 0
Fax: +49 2323/96 76 23
E-Mail: poststelle@fah.nrw.de
Internet: www.akademie-mont-cenis.de
Travel by bus:
Line 311 from Herne railway station
The solar suburb in Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck
Finally, let us step once more on to Gelsenkirchen soil and take a look at the solar suburb, a model project within the framework of urban regeneration. This, the first of 50 solar suburbs in North Rhine-Westphalia, is to be found on Bramkampstrasse, and it demonstrates solar technology being put to use on a self-contained, private basis. Some 75 solar houses show how energy can be produced in an environment-friendly way, whilst complementing the buildings around the new comprehensive school.
Emissions of carbon dioxide within the suburb are 55 percent lower than normally found in residential areas. Solar panels for heating water and solar cells for generating electricity are built into every roof. To keep costs for residents down to reasonable levels, the town sold off the plots of land for a relatively low sum. Municipal energy producers support these household systems financially. This energy-saving domestic technology is reflected in the low cost of rents in the area.
An access road has accordingly been named "Sonnenhof" (sun courtyard).
Bramkampstrasse
Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck
Travel by underground tram:
Line 301
Alight at Bergwerk Consolidation
Travel by bus:
Line 384 (hourly service via Wanne-Eickel central railway station, not via Gelsenkirchen central railway station)
Alight at Bergwerk Consolidation
Come along and see for yourself! Gelsenkirchen is forging ahead - the Solar Trail is just one of the routes in our network!
Book a tour around the Emscher Park Solar Triangle or ask for further details at the information office:
Emscher Park Solar Triangle
Tel.: +49 209/167 11 33
Responsible for the contents: Stadtmarketing Gesellschaft Gelsenkirchen mbH