Lünen is a town with around 86,000 inhabitants in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located north of Dortmund, on both banks of the River Lippe. It is the largest town of the Unna district and part of the Ruhr Area.

In 2009 a biogas plant was built to provide electric power to the city. Lünen is the first city in the world to receive electricity via public utility companies that is generated on the base of animal waste.^[3] The plant produces up to 6.6 MW, supplying 26,000 homes with heat and electricity.^[4]