Most German municipalities are already drafting heating plans – analysis

A majority of municipalities in Germany has begun or is already done drafting plans detailing how they plan to phase out fossil fuel heating systems, showed an analysis by the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR). By the beginning of May this year, 5,085 municipalities — around 47 percent of all municipalities nationwide — had already begun drafting their so-called heating plans. Another 488 municipalities (4.5%) have already completed them.

“In the coming years, it will not only be important to create comprehensive heating plans, but also to ensure their quality and usability,” said BBSR expert Andrea Arnold-Drmic.

Municipal heating plans form the basis for the strategic direction of local heat supply. They show how a municipality's heating requirements can be met in a climate-neutral way in the future, which infrastructure needs to be adapted or rebuilt, and where renewable energies, waste heat sources, and efficient technologies can be best utilised.

Municipal heat planning is a key tenet of Germany's aim to become climate-neutral by 2045. The federal government introduced a law in 2023 giving cities with over 100,000 inhabitants until mid-2026 and smaller towns until mid-2028 to come up with a plan for transitioning to climate-neutral heating. This is to a large extent meant to happen through an expansion of district heating. Today, district heat is mostly produced from fossil fuels like gas and coal, but it provides a relatively easy way to switch hundreds of homes to renewable-based heating at the same time by converting one larger facility.