In dialog with the people in the region
Using various forms of dialog – discussion panels, information visits, hotlines and digital platforms – we communicate with citizens, municipal leaders and stakeholders in the region in order to answer questions about the planned sewage sludge combined heat and power plant, share opinions and provide up-to-date information.
Ideas and change requests submitted by municipal councilors and Walheim citizens have been incorporated into the design of the new sewage sludge combined heat and power plant. As a result, it has once again been possible to significantly reduce the size of the structure.
Open discussions at Walheim power plant
On 26 and 29 April 2022, EnBW threw open the gates of Walheim power plant to interested Walheim residents and initiative groups, giving them the opportunity to put their questions directly to EnBW’s representatives and discuss the plans for the construction of the sewage sludge combined heat and power plant.
A session organized by the local members of the state parliament with the municipal councilors of Walheim, Kirchheim am Neckar, Gemmrigheim and Besigheim was also used to engage people in dialog.
We are constantly incorporating suggestions and comments from the events and meetings into our existing questionnaire. Read on to find out more about Walheim’s first dialog event.
Report on Walheim’s first dialog event on 1 April
“Everything on the table” was the motto at a dialog event involving municipal councilors and the mayors of Walheim, Besigheim, Gemmrigheim and Kirchheim am Neckar along with the “Neckar Valley Citizens” initiative. On 1 April, at the invitation of the two members of the state parliament Tobias Vogt (CDU) and Tayfun Tok (The Greens), around 60 participants came to the community center in Walheim to discuss essential aspects of the planned sewage sludge combined heat and power plant. We have posted a link to the presentation for the dialog event on this page.
The Tübingen dialog expert Dr. Antje Grobe had spoken with all participants in advance and taken their questions so that matters could be discussed on the day in four thematic blocks, including “Technology” and “Legal Framework.” In the subsequent discussion, further questions from the audience were taken. Michael Class (Head of Portfolio Development) and Andreas Pick (Overall Project Manager for Fuel Switch Projects) were on hand to answer questions for EnBW. Further details were provided by Werner Maier from the German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste and Martin Wiemann from the political entity representing the interests of the Stuttgart Region.
On behalf of EnBW, Michael Class thanked those in attendance for making the dialog event possible: “We are pleased that the format has been accepted by all sides and has equally been met with great interest. For this, we wish to thank the two members of the state parliament Tobias Vogt and Tayfun Tok, who extended the invitations to the dialog event. Particularly valuable to us were the numerous contributions to the discussion from the communities and the citizens’ initiative, which once again highlighted to us the areas where there are still unanswered questions and concerns among the citizens. We will, of course, address these issues in due course, especially since certain detailed questions can only be answered as the project progresses. For example, we are happy to work with the communities and citizens to find ways of better integrating a new plant into the landscape and reducing its visual impact. We took away many insights from the event, which we can now work on internally and hopefully discuss in further meetings the people of Walheim.”