Sustainable operation of German founding company
STIHL inaugurated its own combined heat and power station (CHP) at Plant 2 in Waiblingen-Neustadt on June 9 and thus implemented one of the company's most innovative energy concepts. STIHL executive board chairman Dr. Bertram Kandziora said at the inauguration: "Behind this project is nothing less than STIHL's clear commitment to sustainable growth at our Waiblingen plant." With the combined heat and power station STIHL can save seven million kilowatt hours of power a year and generate seven million kilowatt hours of heat. That is equivalent to the annual power consumed by 1,600 single-family homes. In addition, the CHP station produces 60 percent less carbon dioxide than conventional power stations, which represents a substantial reduction in harmful emissions. As a result, the CHP station not only saves costs and resources, it is also environment friendly and promotes sustainable operation of the German founding company.
Combined heat and power station produces power savings and reduces environmental impact
The combined heat and power station at the STIHL plant in Waiblingen-Neustadt generates electricity from natural gas and produces heat by way of exhaust gas and cooling water. The waste heat that occurs during the generation of electricity is utilized for heating purposes. In the future the power station is expected to produce about 20 percent of the electrical energy and some 50 percent of the thermal energy required at the Waiblingen-Neustadt plant. At the same time, the CHP station also produces cold thanks to special absorption technology. This means that unused thermal energy is not wasted in summer, but converted into cold which is used to cool production processes and buildings. In this way about 830 kilowatts of cold energy can be produced from 1150 kilowatts of thermal energy. This in turn also benefits the environment because, compared to conventional energy procurement, a CHP station saves around 30 percent of the primary energy. An essential factor in this connection: In conventional power generation some 60 percent of the energy used is still wasted. The CHP station thus relieves the environment of about 3,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, 400 kilograms of dust and soot and three metric tons of sulphur dioxide every year.
High commitment to environmental protection at STIHL
The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the combined heat and power station took place exactly one year ago, on June 9, 2015. Following the charging stations for electric cars and the photovoltaic plant on the roof of the new production logistics building, the CHP station is yet another STIHL project that underscores the family company's great commitment to protection of the environment. Apart from extensive measures to cut energy consumption, the new CHP station, which is in line with DIN ISO 50001 certification, produces energy while conserving resources at the same time.