Strasbourg (dpa/lsw) - In the energy crisis, the Upper Rhine region must work together across borders, according to Freiburg District President Bärbel Schäfer. "The great potential for expansion lies in wind power and photovoltaics," said Schäfer on Thursday in Strasbourg on the sidelines of a meeting with representatives from Germany, France and Switzerland. A regional council plays an important role in regional planning in Germany.
"So far I haven't seen any wind turbines in the Vosges Mountains in eastern France. We can support them, for example in civil dialogues," said Schäfer of the German Press Agency. "We are a strong business location, so the energy crisis is hitting us particularly hard here on the Upper Rhine." She pointed out that Germany and France are already cooperating in the crisis. Paris is building on electricity supplies from Germany in winter and wants to help out with gas in return.
According to Schäfer, progress has already been made in the energy sector. "There is a plan that the Badische Stahlwerke in Kehl will supply a district of Strasbourg with waste heat." Other projects with a model character are possible. Schäfer called a recycling plant for car batteries: "The technology is very advanced there. If we got a big player in the region, that would be gigantic." In a new EU funding program there is also a project for a hydrogen-powered combined heat and power plant.
It was only announced last week that 10.8 million euros could flow from EU funds for cross-border environmental protection in the German-French-Swiss area.
