After a safe journey from London to Frankfurt and then finally to Zella-Mehlis, the program of the professional exchange on renewable energies started on Monday morning with a presentation of Embrace´s program partner BCS. The abbreviation stands for Bildungs-Center Südthüringen (Educational Center South-Thuringia). We were impressed by all the different fields of vocational training the educational center offers, especially as it is located in the rural area of Zella-Mehlis. We - that are eight participants from the UK, mostly from London and South England, that are engaged with renewable energy, either in our daily work or due to a volunteer position in this field. We came to Germany to share our knowledge about renewable energies, to learn from our German partners on site and to share examples of best practice.
After this interesting introduction and a guided tour on the BCS site, which is partly supplied by its own solar panels, we spent the afternoon at the local waste treatment plant.
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| On our way to explore the waste treatment plant. |
As no waste has been allowed to be stored without pre-treatment in Germany since 2005, there was the need to build a waste plant which burns the local waste, filters the smoke and produces energy out of the heat produced during burning. On the picture below, you can see the impressive crane transporting waste towards the burning camber. We all agreed that this visit was an amazing experience which would not have been possible without taking part in the professional exchange.
