FIEGE logistics centre in Peine: Sustainable transportation

Insights | 2024-05-15

Anyone running a logistics company knows how important it is to recognise trends early on and be proactive – like FIEGE, now for over 150 years in its fifth generation of family ownership. For example, while in the second generation it was still the switch from wagons to trucks, today the emphasis is on sustainability and energy-saving measures such as the installation of state-of-the-art LED lighting and photovoltaic systems in the company's own logistics centers.

A logistics building that fulfils the requirements of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) and is certified Silver was constructed for the logistics company in the Peine Ost industrial estate at Lehmkuhlenweg 88/90. A total of around 30,000 square metres of logistics space is available on the approximately 65,000 square metre property – spread over three bays. In addition, two upstream office buildings offer the logistics service provider the opportunity to fulfil its growth strategy in the consumer products sector. Among other things, the building has energy-saving LED lighting, a modern charging infrastructure for e-mobility and an energy concept including monitoring.

Power of the sun

In May 2024, the first part of the newly installed photovoltaic system with a total of around 8,000 solar modules went into operation, turning the building into a small solar power plant. The second part of the PV system will go into operation in October 2024. For our tenant, this is an important and valuable step on the way to even greater sustainability.

With a total output of 3,260 kilowatt peak (kWp), the plant will produce up to 2.7 gigawatt hours of green electricity per year – equivalent to the needs of around 700 households.

Thanks to efficient building technology, the multi-user centre in Peine with its intelligent LED lighting will only require a small proportion of the electricity generated itself. With this photovoltaic system – the company’s largest to date – FIEGE covers the logistics centre’s own requirements in the Hanover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg metropolitan region and can also feed up to 90% of the solar power generated into the public grid at peak times.

 

There is a lot of green energy in new logistics buildings – in the truest sense of the word. Great strides are being made in the green transformation of the logistics industry. Photovoltaic systems are an important part of energy management. Between 2012 and 2022, around 50 million square metres of new roof area were created in Germany alone, of which around 30 million square metres are suitable for photovoltaic use. Up to 2.5 terawatt hours of solar power could be generated with the appropriate photovoltaic modules. This corresponds to the annual electricity requirements of around 800,000 households, and could save around 960,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. This is roughly equivalent to the amount captured by 100,000 hectares of mixed forest per year.

Mirco Schelbach investment manager and member of the BVL initiative Power of Logistics

Peine has excellent logistical connections. It is just 25 kilometres from Braunschweig and 45 kilometres from Hanover and in close proximity to the seaports of Bremerhaven, Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven – the perfect location to provide omnichannel logistics for consumer goods.