Danish advice on a new Scottish district heating law

Danish experience and input has had a major impact on Scotland's first district heating law, which has just been adopted and will help reduce CO ₂ emissions, reduce raw material shortages and create green jobs by accelerating the expansion of the district heating network in Scotland. The law will 20-fold the number of Scottish houses connected to district heating to 650,000 houses by 2030. According to the Scots, the law will reduce CO ₂ emissions equivalent to 90,000 cars by 2050.

Britain is generally challenged by a heat supply that is primarily based on fossil energy. Conversely, Denmark is internationally recognized for having one of the world's greenest district heating networks with very high connectivity. Therefore, there has been great interest from the British side in bringing Danish experience directly into play in the work of spreading district heating in Scotland.

“ It is Denmark's ambition to be a global pioneer country and share our good experiences of green transition with other countries that can benefit from them. Therefore, I am really happy that Scotland can see a value in the Danish district heating model and has been strongly inspired by it. With the new law, the Scots will have noticeable CO₂ reductions, at the same time as new green local jobs are created and the market for district heating solutions will grow. Therefore, new sales opportunities may also arise for Danish suppliers of district heating technology and solutions, ” says Minister of Climate, Energy and Supply Dan Jørgensen.

Global government cooperation creates concrete results

The Scottish District Heating Act is a concrete result of Denmark and the United Kingdom having had an energy collaboration since 2017 with a focus on district heating, and for the past two years the Danish Energy Agency has had a special adviser sent based at the Danish embassy in London. In connection with the District Heating Act, the Danish Energy Agency and the Danish Embassy have specifically supported the Scots through dialogue, written material, workshops and participation in working groups. The Danish district heating model has, among other things, been praised on several occasions in the Scottish Parliament during discussions of the District Heating Act.

“The Scottish District Heating Act is a good example of how international partnerships and government cooperation across borders work and create concrete results. In this case, both greenhouse gas reductions and new green jobs. The climate crisis is a global challenge that can only be solved if we cooperate and exchange experiences, says Minister of Climate, Energy and Supply Dan Jørgensen.

In Scotland, the expansion with district heating is seen as a central part of the solution to achieve the country's climate goal of a 75%  reduction in CO₂ by 2030. Going forward, the ambition is that the district heating network will be based on renewable energy, for example heat pumps and surplus heat processes.

Scotland is considered a frontrunner for UK-wide district heating regulation, and Scottish regulation is expected to have an impact on district heating development across the UK.