Helmstedt celebrates victory at the ideas competition for the energy transition!

Helmstedt celebrates victory at the ideas competition for the energy transition!

Helmstedt, Deutschland - On June 13, 2025, the ceremonial award ceremony of the ideas competition "Transformation - from lignite area to the green energy landscape" took place in Helmstedt. The competition, initiated by the Buschhaus planning association and the regional association Greater Braunschweig, aimed to develop innovative solutions for the renaturation and structural reorganization in the region after lignite mining. The winning team, consisting of "Glück Landschaftsarchitektur GmbH" and "Laboratory for Urban Places and Processes" from Stuttgart, was awarded for a clear design of a landscape park, which in the future should enable an attractive and economically successful use of the approximately 4,500 hectare area in the Helmstedter Revier. regionalheute.de reports that the event of numerous guests, including the Lower Saxony Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Miriam Staudte, visited, visited was.

The minister not only emphasized the opportunities that the region offers through this transformation process, but also emphasized the importance of competition for future development. Their appeal to combine the old roots of the region with the new use was very well received. Because the coal phase -out is not only a challenge, but also an opportunity for a sustainable and green future.

The transformation of the Helmstedter Revier

The Helmstedter Revier is one of several German areas that change fundamentally. Here the last coal was already broken down in the Schöningen opencast mine in 2016. The region is now to be transferred to a new green energy landscape, whereby the flooding of the Lappwaldsee is planned. This marks the beginning of a transformation that could already be observed in other areas such as Lusatia or the Rhenish area. bdew.de indicates that the Lausitzer Seenland has produced one of the largest artificial water landscapes in Germany, which, as can be created from former industrial throat, can be created.

However, the challenges should not be underestimated. The coal phase-out resulted in the loss of around 82,800 jobs in the brown coal and coal sector, which makes the urgent need for new perspectives and infrastructure easier. The development of traffic routes, educational sites and digital infrastructures must grow in this context.

The legal framework for the coal phase -out

The exit from the coal power generation is regulated in the Coal Restriction Congress Act (KVBG) and includes the gradual decommissioning of systems. According to bundesnetzagentur.de, the coal -fired power plant performance is reduced in several tendering rounds, which means that no new coal -powered electricity contract is concluded. From 2027, the end of coal electricity generation will be regulated by law and no further tenders are necessary.

In order to achieve the goal of a complete coal phase -out by 2038, comprehensive measures are necessary. The consideration of ecological, economic and social aspects is essential so that the former open -air regions not only represent a shadow of their former self, but can shine with new possibilities.

The plans of the winning team will be exhibited in the architectural pavilion at the Technical University of Braunschweig in autumn, which should secure additional sensitivity to the region. In which form and where exactly the designs are presented remains to be seen - but one thing is clear: The transformation of the Helmstedter Revier is in full swing.