Sustainable quarter in the north of Berlin is taking shape

The first people have moved in, and everything should be ready by the end of 2025 - from residential buildings to the orchard. Sustainable living and living in the Berlin project Kokoni One is becoming reality bit by bit.

12.04.2024 – Before the 2021 federal election, FDP leader Christian Lindner accused the Greens in an interview with Die Zeit of wanting to turn Germany into a "Bullerbü" – "a rural village idyll with subsidised cargo bikes", as is already being demanded for Berlin. Nevertheless, the current finance minister went into a joint government with the Greens and SPD, with all the quarrels that followed. In particular, the heating law was fought so hard that the coalition was predicted to end several times.

"The debates on the Building Energy Act only led to the fact that we had by far the highest number of new gas heating systems in 2023," said Johannes Kraft of the CDU, member of the Berlin House of Representatives, for Buch, Französisch-Buchholz and Karow. Kraft accepted the invitation of incept GmbH and naturstrom AG, which are responsible for the development of an emission-free energy supply in the new Kokoni One district in Französisch-Buchholz. 84 semi-detached and terraced houses are being built there, integrated into a holistically sustainable concept.

From sustainable heat supply to charging infrastructure for cars - everything that politicians are currently not advancing sufficiently is being implemented here on their own, Kraft praised those responsible behind Kokoni One. In his speech to invited journalists on the grounds of Kokoni One, however, Kraft concealed the fact that it was also his CDU that caused considerable uncertainty among the population in the debate on the heating law. In addition, 16 years of the CDU/CSU-led federal government until 2021 are considered a lost one for the energy transition and climate protection. Makers of the energy transition attest to the ruling traffic light coalition's significantly more will to advance climate protection in Germany and to remove hurdles.

(Source: INCEPT GmbH)

In the Kokoni One district, the first residents, who have been moving into the already completed houses since spring 2023, are living the holistically sustainable concept. In addition to cargo bikes, most people who own a car have switched to e-mobility. And they can charge their cars at the quarter's wallboxes that are installed as standard. The residents obtain the electricity for this from the roof-integrated photovoltaic systems. Once the project is completed, the total output of the PV systems on all 84 roofs will be 300 kilowatts peak. The solar power also flows into the local energy centre and is available to the neighbourhood as tenant electricity. The electricity also ensures the operation of heat pumps.

The heat supply in the district is provided by means of a geothermal local heating network. Sarah Debor, Head of the Urban Residential and Commercial Business Unit at naturstrom AG, explains: "At a depth of about 100 metres below the district, 68 geothermal probes extract thermal energy from the ground at a constant temperature level of around 10 degrees Celsius. Two central heat pumps then raise the temperature to 40 degrees." A 1,200-metre-long insulated low-temperature local heating network brings the heating energy into the buildings.

In summer, the energy flows are reversed and used for cooling. Excess heat is extracted from the buildings, which the local heating network returns to the ground. "In addition, a recooler on the roof of the energy center generates further thermal energy from the air when it is hot, which is then stored in the ground," Debor continues. The residential buildings themselves are also sustainable, all of which are built in timber construction and – except for the foundation and without a basement – manage almost without climate-damaging concrete. The wood for this comes from sustainable forestry in Finland.

Johannes Kraft and Sarah Debor in the heating centre, the heart of the neighbourhood (naturstrom AG)

Many houses and the energy centre are already in place. Around it, work continues diligently. By the end of 2025, all houses should be ready to move in. Until then, a lot of greenery will also find its way into the area. The currently still gray façade of the energy center will be greened, and a meadow orchard will be created at the already completed community center. In front of it is a playground and sports area, where all people from the surrounding area are welcome. In Berlin, connected to the city's local transport network and yet resembling a village idyll, the project resembles a positive idea of a Bullerbüs, according to Astrid Lindgren.

"Holistic energy concepts for entire districts, such as here at Kokoni One in Pankow, are an important building block for the urban energy transition," says Johannes Kraft, who is a member of the Committee for Urban Development, Building and Housing in the Berlin House of Representatives. "This will make it possible to make optimal use of local energy sources in cities as well. We need this networking of the electricity, heat and mobility sectors in order to quickly get closer to the goal of climate neutrality."

If the Berlin CDU hits the brakes on the transport turnaround, it will be quite progressive in the expansion of renewable energies for heat and electricity. Together with the SPD, she announced a five billion euro special fund for climate protection after last year's election. The repurchase of the district heating supply for Berlin from Vattenfall, which was forced by the previous red-red-green government, has been completed – albeit with cutbacks. With large-scale drilling projects, the Berlin Senate wants to make deep geothermal energy usable for the city, and waste heat is also to become an important factor. The Solarcity master plan will also be continued. The solar expansion in Berlin is progressing. The goal: a 25 percent share of solar power by 2030. The Kokoni One project also contributes to this. Manuel Grisard

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