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Heat planning to become easier for smaller municipalities
In order to set out the path towards a cost-efficient and climate-neutral local heat supply, all municipalities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants are required to draw up heat plans by mid-2026. Smaller municipalities have until 2028 to do this. A wide range of factors must be considered, as heat plans can only be successfully implemented if they reflect local circumstances, available potential and conditions on the ground. On average, it currently takes 18 months in Germany to complete a municipal heat plan. Heat planning is particularly challenging for small municipalities when resource and capacity demands exceed what they can manage.
Under the draft adopted by the Federal Cabinet, a new option known as small-scale heat planning is intended to significantly reduce both the administrative burden and the duration of the planning process for municipalities (with up to 15,000 inhabitants.) Baseline and potential analyses, the development of target scenarios and extensive documentation will largely be dispensed with. It is for municipalities to decide whether they use this option or carry out more comprehensive heat planning. “This will provide noticeable relief for rural areas while also strengthening the capacity of local authorities to act,” said Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Katherina Reiche.
“Heat planning data space” to simplify the provision of input data
The revision, proposed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy together with the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building, also aims to make data collection and processing more practical. A digital infrastructure usable across all levels of government will support further digitalisation and enable more efficient data exchange. The heat planning data space is intended to facilitate the use of heat planning outputs and the provision of input data, particularly with regard to updating heat plans. The outputs are especially important for planning and developing upstream energy infrastructure.
The revision also aims to implement requirements under the EU Energy Efficiency Directive. In municipalities with more than 45,000 inhabitants, cooling supply planning will be required as part of the updating of heat plans. In addition, the deadline for operators of industrial district heating networks to submit heat network expansion and decarbonisation roadmaps will be extended from the end of 2026 to the end of 2030.
Since the Heat Planning Act came into force on 1 January 2024, heat planning has been introduced nationwide in Germany. Within heat planning, local stakeholders engage in dialogue on how local heat supply can be developed towards climate neutrality. A key element of heat planning is the designation of municipal areas into anticipated heat supply zones, such as district heating network areas or areas for decentralised supply. Heat planning therefore plays a major role in shaping energy infrastructure development and in achieving climate targets in the energy and buildings sector.