Ice skating rinks consume a lot of energy. Some municipalities no longer want to afford this in view of the energy and climate crisis. Nevertheless, the skating fun should not be missing.
Erlangen (dpa/lby) - The rising energy costs will also have an impact on ice skating in Bavaria this winter. While ice rinks remain closed in some municipalities, others rely on plastic. This year, Erlangen invites you to ice skate on the market square again during the Advent season - on a 400 square meter area made of plastic. A synthetic ice rink will also be set up in Regensburg in January.
In contrast to a conventional ice rink, no electricity is used for cooling and no water, according to the city management in Erlangen. That's why we decided on this model in these special times. The electricity for the lighting also comes entirely from renewable energies.
In Regensburg, too, thanks to the new plastic ice rink in the old town from mid-January to mid-March, power consumption can be significantly reduced, as the city calculates. "The originally planned natural ice rink would have consumed around 540 kWh per day for the cooling unit," explained a spokeswoman. Now only electricity for lighting and the loudspeaker system is consumed, with a daily expected figure of 50 kilowatt hours (kWh).
The Nürnberger Post-Sportverein has had a little longer experience with skating on plastic. Since 2020, ice sports fans have been able to do their laps on a 350 square meter synthetic ice rink during the cold season. In addition to lower maintenance costs, ecological aspects were particularly decisive: Compared to chilled ice, this saves around 10,000 liters of water per month, the average energy consumption of 200 households and 4.75 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, said spokesman Maximilian Oppel.
In Rosenheim, too, the city management had toyed with the idea of a temporary ice rink made of plastic this year. For logistical reasons, however, this had become too expensive because a place would have had to be converted, said managing director Sabrina Obermoser. Such an ice rink may be an option for next year's winter.
In Zirndorf, on the other hand, people will have to do without the conventional ice rink at Bibertbad this year. A city spokeswoman announced that this was closed in the 2022/2023 season for energy reasons. There were also discussions about the ice rink in Würzburg. "That's off the table," said a spokeswoman for the Würzburg supply and transport company. As soon as it is cool enough outside, the ice rink will open.
