Location of the APV research plant
A biodynamic (Demeter) farm in Heggelbach in the region Lake Constance-Upper Swabia (Bodensee-Oberschwaben) was selected to be the site of the research facility. In the district of Lake Constance, which is one of three districts in the region, the share of renewable energies is below average. The district is facing the challenge to increase the share of renewable energies from 10 % (as in 2013) to 26 % in 2022. With 15 %, PV is supposed to be the main renewable energy source in the region. Rooftop installations alone are not sufficient to realize the objective of 15 %, the available agricultural land and conversion sites are limited. Innovative approaches like APV are necessary and their success can be accelerated by including citizens at an early project stage. The potential capacity for wind power is limited: Currently, only one percent of the local demand for electricity can be covered by wind power. This is due to a low acceptance of wind power plants in the local society and their attempt to protect the characteristic landscape and the panoramic view of the Alps. The share of wind power in the region can only be increased to 6 % by 2022. Also, energy production from biomass use is limited by a low acceptance of the local society. The share of bioenergy on renewable energy production in the Lake Constance-Upper Swabia region is expected to be around to 2 % in 2022.