Heat planning law – Federal government wants to oblige federal states to carry out heat planning

The German government wants to decarbonize the heating sector. The Buildings Energy Act (Gebäudeenergiegesetz, GEG) is being discussed at every round table. The coalition is deeply divided. Now comes its legal twin, without which the Buildings Energy Act would be incomplete. The Federal Government has presented the long-awaited draft of the Heat Planning Act (Wärmeplanungsgesetz, WPG). The aim is to create a legal basis for the mandatory and systematic introduction of comprehensive heat planning and the decarbonization of district heating. On the one hand, the law requires the federal states to draw up so-called heating plans. On the other hand, concrete requirements for heat network operators are planned with regard to the share of renewable energies and unavoidable waste heat in heat networks from 2030.

Obligation of the federal states and specifications for the preparation of heating plans

The federal states are obliged to ensure that heating plans are in place by December 31, 2026 at the latest (for all areas with more than 100,000 inhabitants) or by December 31, 2028 (for all areas with more than 10,000 inhabitants). The federal states can transfer this obligation to the municipalities by ordinances and designate a body responsible for the planning.

The draft also provides detailed regulations for the steps in which heat planning is to be carried out and which components the heating plan must contain. In particular, it is envisaged that the bodies responsible for planning must carry out stock and potential analyses at the start of the heat planning process. Here, on the one hand, the current heat consumption including the energy sources used and the heat generation and infrastructure systems are to be determined. This is to be done by collecting all information relevant to heat planning and necessary data on the current supply. Among other things, the draft literally requires the “building-specific” determination and analysis of annual energy consumption in the planned area. On the other hand, all existing potentials for generating and using heat from renewable energies and unavoidable waste heat are to be determined and documented. The CSU has somewhat stridently branded this a “heating Stasi law.” The reality is that heat planning is to be developed from existing data from utilities and other existing data sources. For this purpose, an obligation to provide information to the body responsible for planning is planned for all natural and legal persons under private and public law, associations of persons, federal and state authorities and municipalities and associations of municipalities, in particular operators of energy supply networks and companies, operators of heating networks and authorized district chimney sweeps. The obligation to provide information shall extend only to data already known to the persons obligated to provide information.

In a further step, it is planned to develop milestones and supply options in 2045, as well as a target scenario and concrete implementation measures. In addition, it is planned to involve public interest groups and the general public, for example network operators. For this purpose, the persons to be involved must be given the opportunity to inspect the report for a period of at least one month and to comment on it for a further two weeks. The comments must then be evaluated. Only then can the heating plan be adopted and published. The provisions of the adopted heating plan shall be taken into account in the planning of buildings and other land uses.

The obligation to carry out heat planning shall not apply to areas for which heat plans have already been prepared before the entry into force of the Act or for which a heat plan is prepared and adopted within six months after the entry into force of the Act.

Obligations for heat network operators

For heating network operators, the draft stipulates that from January 1, 2030, heating networks must be supplied with heat from renewable energy sources, unavoidable waste heat, or a combination of the two, in the amount of at least 50 percent of the annual gross final energy consumption supplied via the heating network. The competent authority may, in exceptional cases, extend the deadline until the end of 2035 at the latest.

By January 1, 2024, new heating networks must be supplied with at least 65 percent heat from renewable energy sources, unavoidable waste heat, or a combination of the two.

The draft also stipulates that, from 2026, operators of heating networks will have to draw up and submit to the competent authorities a plan for the conversion and expansion of their heating networks. Fines will be imposed for non-compliance.

By December 31, 2045, all heating networks must be supplied entirely with heat from renewable energy sources, unavoidable waste heat, or a combination of the two. Fines will be imposed for non-compliance.

Ambitious plan with potential for controversy

As the plans for the hydrogen core network and the Buildings Energy Act have already shown, the draft heat planning law also makes it clear that the German government is serious about decarbonizing the energy sector by 2045. With its short deadlines, the draft legislation is ambitious but necessary. The obligation for federal states and municipalities is also sensible, as heat planning is best done at the local level. However, the planned “building-specific” inventory analysis is likely to not only push municipalities to their limits, but also to fuel the dispute within the federal government.

(26 May 2023)