08/21/2023
Source: Energy & Management Powernews
A study by the German Energy Agency (Dena) shows action strategies and use cases for the initiation, planning and implementation of heat networks in rural regions.
For the construction of heat networks in existing buildings, the question for municipalities, especially in rural areas, is: How can they be built and operated? Nicole Pillen, division manager urban energy transition of Dena, explained, "Especially for the small municipalities, the construction of heat networks poses many questions of a technical and economic nature." The study by the German Energy Agency (Dena) shows, he said, that there are individual approaches to solutions for the various initial situations on the ground, which at the same time can also create added value, energy security and innovation at the regional level.
The current cabinet decision on the German government's Heat Planning Act provides for municipal heat planning for all municipalities in Germany. A central measure in this context is the establishment of heating networks in existing neighborhoods. The advantages of heating networks: Added value locally, more price-stable heat supply, value retention of the building stock and, last but not least, higher location attractiveness for trade and industry with low-temperature heat demand.
Networking of actors important
The study "Networked heat supply in existing neighborhoods - action strategies for use cases for initiation, planning and implementation on site" shows options for how municipalities can initiate, flank and invest in heat network construction. Although the availability of municipal or private investment funds plays an important role in heat networks in existing neighborhoods, Dena says the relatively less expensive measures of initiation and flanking can prepare the ground for viable projects.
The most important factor here, it says, is a well-functioning network of actors and stakeholders on the ground with strong alliances, even beyond the municipal administration. "The development of heating networks, like municipal heating planning and its implementation, should be seen as a stakeholder process," the study says. Depending on the local initial conditions, the design must be concretized individually on site.
Different interests and options along operator models must be weighed and produce a coherent overall picture. In many places, municipalities could already implement heat networks at locations with a high heat line density or large environmental heat sources.
Good example Bruchsal
A beacon of implementation, according to Dena, is the city of Bruchsal with its Climate Strategy 2050: anchor customers in the form of public properties form the starting point for the development of neighborhood heat networks. Together with the municipal utilities, which are wholly owned by the municipality, the environmental and energy agency Kreis Karlsruhe, and various private suppliers and operators in the region, an effective and capable network of actors has developed. The projects are accompanied by various information campaigns and online tools such as the energy master plan, which makes developments transparent and creates low-threshold participation.
The study is aimed at experts in the field of heat planning. An Internet platform provides, as it is called, quality-assured information and work aids, provides for knowledge structure in the topic area innovations and makes the energy turnaround in the building sector visible on the basis of good examples. Dena's team of experts in the Building Forum is supported by a continuously growing network of specialist partners from industry associations and representatives from all regions of Germany. The aim of the "Building Forum Climate Neutral" is to multiply knowledge and thus accelerate the progress of the energy transition in the building sector.
The Dena study "Networked heat supply in existing quarters" is available for download as a PDF.
Author: Susanne Harmsen
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