Stricter rules planned
The Ministry of Construction also wants a heat plan from the smallest municipalities
7/21/2023 9:33 p.m
Do I need a heat pump or can I use district heating on my street? Municipal heat planning should provide answers to important questions of the heat transition. A draft law by the Federal Building Ministry tightens the reins a little.
On the way to more climate-friendly heating, the Ministry of Construction wants even the smallest municipalities to submit heating plans in the future – six months earlier than previously assumed. This emerges from an updated draft law by the ministry, which has been sent to states and associations. Accordingly, the project has been coordinated with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, but not with the rest of the federal government.
According to the plans, cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants should have time until mid-2026. All other municipalities must submit their heat plans by June 30, 2028.
Municipal heating planning is an important building block with which the federal government wants to ensure more climate protection when heating. Each municipality should indicate in which streets or areas it is planning district heating supply, where local heating will be available, for example via biomass, or where a hydrogen network should be set up. Owners should also find out whether they alternatively have to provide climate-friendly heating systems themselves, for example using a heat pump.
Link to the Heating Act
The law for municipal heating planning thus supplements the long-controversial law for the replacement of old oil and gas heating systems. Because only when such a heating plan is in place should owners be obliged to heat with at least 65 percent renewable energies if their old heating system breaks down. Exceptions are new development areas, where this obligation applies from 2024.
Originally, however, the heat planning was only intended to affect around 1,600 towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants. According to the latest plans, around 9,190 smaller communities are also to be obliged. In order not to overwhelm the latter, however, Minister of Construction Klara Geywitz wants to define simplified procedures for them. In addition, neighboring municipalities should be able to work together and draw up joint plans. Furthermore, it should be possible to name general areas in which there will very likely be no heat or hydrogen network.
According to the draft, the federal government wants to give the municipalities financial support. However, this only applies to the creation of heating plans, not to their implementation, for example the construction of a district heating network.
Baden-Württemberg municipalities are pioneers
According to estimates by the Competence Center Municipal Heat Turnaround (KWW) in Halle, around 400 municipalities nationwide are already working on heat planning. Baden-Württemberg is a pioneer here with around 200 municipalities. But Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony and Hesse are also quite far – all federal states in which there is already a legal obligation for municipal heating planning. In about a dozen municipalities, the heat plans have already been completed.
Owners will no longer be allowed to install new gas heaters here from 2024 – but only if the municipal heating plan already meets the requirements of the federal law.
In fact, by 2030, district heating and other heating networks should be supplied with 50 percent renewable energy. That should now be relaxed. By 2030, a share of 30 percent renewables should be prescribed, by 2040 80 percent. However, the goal of climate neutrality by 2045 should not change.
The Ministry of Building is gathering statements from the federal states and, for example, the central municipal associations and energy suppliers on the draft law. The main question: Do you think the guidelines can be implemented? In addition, the other ministries must agree. Then the draft can be decided in the cabinet and then discussed in the Bundestag. This is planned by the end of the year.