Commander, mayor meet to celebrate ‘win-win-win’

Lt. Col. Lars Zetterstrom, U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern commander, and Werner Holz, mayor of the Union Community Bruchmühlbach-Miesau, came together May 29 to celebrate the successful installation and activation of a block-heating plant on Miesau Army Depot — the second step the Army and community have taken to provide cleaner energy while reducing costs.

“This is the second major improvement we’ve done together,” Zetterstrom said, recalling the project to install photovoltaic panels on depot buildings in 2012.

“When you’ve been friends for so long, you have to find ways to keep it fresh,” Zetterstrom said. “It’s another great example of how to keep the friendship current.”

The plant uses bio-methane, which is cleaner than oil, to provide heat and electricity to the installation.

Looking outside at the unusually cold and rainy weather, Holz joked that “we have the best weather conditions for heating.”

The concept for the project was developed by the mayor, his staff, garrison staff and the community council back in 2002, and the wait was worth it, Holz said.

“Twenty-five percent of the energy is created on base, and this is a fantastic rate,” he said. “We do as much as we can, and it’s vastly renewable energy.”