Denmark’s district heating association Dansk Fjernvarme has called for an “open and public debate” on the sector’s future, following a report into potential savings for the sector.
The association released a statement this week saying a report by consultancy McKinsey, which has not yet been made public, was a “democratic challenge”.
The government-commissioned report into how the sector could make savings of up to €228m was “secretly ordered without any open and public debate”, according to Dansk Fjernvarme managing director, Kim Mortensen, who said the report backed privatisation of the sector.
While Mortensen said heating companies could be more cost effective, the move required the right tools and “no reports commissioned in secret”.
Many district heating systems are waste-fired, while incentives for biomass fuels, which are excluded from heat taxes unlike fossil fuels, have boosted its use across the country.