Green heat as a matter of public interest: Germany wants to accelerate the use of renewables in district heating

Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has presented a draft law aimed at accelerating the development of geothermal heating plants, large heat pumps and district heating networks. Projects aimed at developing "green" district heating should be deemed to serve an overriding public interest. The international news outlet Clean Energy Wire reported.

District heating is one of the main keys to achieving climate-neutral heat supply for buildings. Alongside improving the energy efficiency of buildings, it therefore plays a crucial role in ensuring the decarbonisation of heating in Germany.

In 2023, the previous German government said it planned to connect 100,000 buildings to district heating networks every year. Municipal heating decarbonisation plans are to determine where district heating networks will be developed.

Large heat pumps and geothermal heating plants are expected to play a significant role in Germany's district heating sector in the future. According to former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for example, the amount of heat supplied to district heating networks from geothermal plants could increase as much as tenfold by 2030.

Reducing permitting barriers

To achieve this, Germany's new government has proposed a law building on existing legislation aimed at developing the use of geothermal energy. Among other things, the law seeks to accelerate the deployment of large heat pumps that use ambient energy from lakes and rivers, as well as waste heat from wastewater treatment plants and other facilities.

"The law should bring a noticeable acceleration of all processes and thus provide relief for the German economy and industry by reducing permitting barriers," the ministry said, adding that the law addresses many aspects related to the environment, wildlife protection and geological stability.

Under the law, the development of infrastructure for "green" district heating should be considered to serve an overriding public interest, as is already the case for wind and solar power plants, for example.

"The development of heating infrastructure will be accelerated in the same way as other energy infrastructure," the ministry added.