08/17/2023
Source: Energy & Management Powernews
The Federal Cabinet has launched the bill for a uniform heat planning. Municipalities must plan their heat supply and feed heat networks more climate-friendly.
The Federal Cabinet has approved the draft law on heat planning and decarbonization of heat networks introduced by the Federal Ministry of Economics and the Federal Ministry of Construction. The aim of the bill is to have heat planning in all of Germany's approximately 11,000 municipalities, so that citizens and also commercial operators know which energy source and supply they can count on locally.
In addition, half of the heat supplied by pipelines is to be generated in a climate-neutral manner by 2030. Heat grids are to be supplied with a share of 30 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2040 with heat from renewable energy or unavoidable waste heat. Finally, the Heat Planning Act contains an obligation to draw up roadmaps for heat network expansion and decarbonization.
Federal Minister of Construction Klara Geywitz (SPD) explained, "In each individual municipality, the conditions are different. That's precisely why a uniform federal heat planning law that defines uniform standards and specifications for all of Germany is important." To enable the municipalities to get started quickly, he said, the federal government is funding the creation of heat plans with 500 million euros. On the citizens no additional expenditure comes, since exclusively existing data are used, which authorities, power suppliers and the chimney sweep already have, stressed the Minister.
Cities and municipalities demand more money for the planning
In a position paper "Municipal heat turnaround successfully arrange" the German cities and municipalities federation (DStGB) set central demands to the heat planning law (WPG). The deadlines for the preparation of heat plans contained in the current draft of the WPG should be extended. In addition, there is a plea for the simplified procedure for drawing up heat plans for smaller municipalities to be made binding by federal law. The promotion for the heat plans is not sufficient by far.
It is urged to finance the production of the heat plans completely and to establish in addition a promotion rate, which represents costs appropriately. Supply areas should also be able to be planned and implemented across municipal boundaries. Straight smaller municipalities would have to be able to transfer the warmth planning and also measure conversion in principle without procurement law in the sense of an In-House-Wärmeplanung to neighbouring municipalities and municipally controlled public utilities or other enterprises, so the DStGB.
Disagreement on the role of gases for the heat turnaround
For the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), Kerstin Andreae explained, "The draft now available is by and large a practicable basis for the implementation of the heat turnaround on site." However, the BDEW managing director also called for improvements. For example, she said, there should be no difference between large and small municipalities in terms of funding for heat planning. "Milestones and interim targets must not jeopardize the tetrad of network expansion, decarbonization of heat, security of supply and cost efficiency," Andreae reminded.
The BDEW is therefore critical of the fact that the draft bill continues to limit the use of biomass. In heat networks with a length of 20 kilometers to 50 kilometers to a maximum of 25 percent and beyond that to a maximum of 15 percent. "Regionally available biomass can play an important role in heat planning in many areas," Andreae said. If this limit were to continue, quite a few existing, as well as future, heating concepts in non-urban areas would not be feasible. BDEW calls for an increase in subsidies in the Federal Promotion of Efficient Heat Networks (BEW). Quite central is the close interlocking of the WPG with the building energy law (GEG), which is to be adopted in parallel, reminded Andreae.
Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) criticizes the "lack of legally binding municipal heat plans and extended deadlines" for implementation. Municipalities as well as consumers would be exposed to legal and financial risks, fears federal managing director Barbara Metz. "Bioenergy and green hydrogen are niche solutions that should only be used in special cases because of their inefficiency, low availability and high costs," she warned.
For the industry association Zukunft Gas, on the other hand, the inclusion of hydrogen from all sources is welcome. Executive director Timm Kehler said, "This enables a resilient design of the heat transition through a range of alternative solutions." He also welcomes the recommendation to actively involve the gas and hydrogen industry and its industrial customers in planning in the future. However, he said, it is incomprehensible why the gas network area transformation plans are not anchored in the draft on an equal footing with the transformation plans for the heating networks.
The draft law on municipal heating planning is available for download on the website of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection.
Author: Susanne Harmsen
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