A new study shows that investments of at least 43.5 billion euros in district heating are required for Germany to meet its climate targets by 2030.
Text by Kim Vejrup
Germany’s future plans for district heating are ambitious and require a significant amount of money. A new study from the analysis and consulting firm Prognos indicates that Germans will need to invest 43.5 billion euros by 2030 to meet their adopted climate goals.
Funding priorities for heating network expansion and renewables
The study, commissioned by the German Association for Energy Efficiency in Heating, Cooling, and Combined Heat and Power (AGFW) and the German Association of Local Public Utilities (VKU), shows that 60% of the funds are needed to expand the heating networks. The remaining amount should be used for renewable heating plants and their network connection.
Essential government support for district heating expansion
According to an article in Clean Energy Wire, the study states that an annual government subsidy of 3.4 billion euros is needed to secure the necessary investments and the operation of district heating up to 2030.
“An appropriate funding framework is a central requirement,” says the director of AGFW, Werner Lutsch, in connection with the study’s publication.
According to the study, if the investments materialize, 3.6 million buildings will be heated with district heating by 2045—equivalent to 14 million housing units.
Transition to climate-neutral heat by 2045
Heat production towards 2045 is expected to gradually transition to climate neutrality with a mix of renewable energy and the use of surplus heat from, among other things, industrial processes. At the same time, German municipalities are expected to develop plans for how German urban communities will be heated in the future.
A previous study has described how district heating already supplies more than a third of the houses in Germany’s three largest cities: Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich. The government has previously set a target of connecting 100,000 buildings to district heating each year.
This article was originally published in Danish by the Danish District Heating Association. Translation by DBDH
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