Around a year after the start of municipal heating planning, the first two of a total of four phases of municipal heating planning have been completed. In close cooperation with the contracted service provider EWE NETZ, a detailed picture of the current heat supply situation was obtained as part of the inventory and potential analysis. Existing potential in the area of industrial waste heat utilisation and renewable energies as well as potential savings in buildings were also identified. The interim results were recently presented to the Committee for the Environment, Climate and Transport and the Committee for Local Development and Tourism at a joint meeting.
Unsurprisingly, it was concluded that natural gas is currently still by far the most important energy source for heat generation in the municipality of Rüdersdorf near Berlin. Around 95% of all heating systems are fuelled by gas and 4% of buildings are heated by district heating. The remaining buildings are heated with heating oil, heat pumps or other energy sources. The proportion of heat pumps could actually be higher, but there is a relatively high level of uncertainty here, as heat pumps are not subject to reporting requirements and are therefore not included in the current database.
The potential analysis carried out at the same time shows that there is sufficient potential in the municipality of Rüdersdorf near Berlin to cover the required heat using renewable energies or existing industrial waste heat. In an initial conclusion, the study comes to the conclusion that, in addition to the utilisation of industrial waste heat, building renovations and the installation of photovoltaic systems in combination with heat pumps also offer great opportunities.
The next step is to localise potential areas suitable for heating networks that enable a more efficient and sustainable heat supply. The areas in which the heat requirements in neighbouring buildings are so high that a heating network would be suitable in principle are specifically examined.
Once the heat suitability areas have been designated, the next step follows: public participation. The aim is to finalise the heat planning in the first half of 2025. The municipality of Rüdersdorf near Berlin provides regular updates on the progress of the process on its website: https://www.ruedersdorf.de/meine-gemeinde/konzepte/kommunale-waermeplanung/
Municipal heating planning does not create any implementation obligations for citizens. The plan does not dictate to anyone how heating must be provided in future. Rather, it provides guidance for individual decisions on the future heat supply. This planning creates security and gives citizens and businesses a perspective for their heat supply. It serves as a strategic planning tool for the municipality, which is available after the end of the project, is regularly updated and is intended to pave the long-term way to aCO2-neutral future.