Denmark’s Jorgensen has been a pioneer in the transition to heating for many years. How far have you come already? where do you stand now?
Heating transition is closely related to district heating systems. Two-thirds of Denmark’s approximately 3 million households are supplied with district heating, and the share of renewable energy in district heating is 75%. A significant half of district heating is sourced from certified biomass, primarily wood. We hope to reduce this percentage to 35% by 2035. We want Denmark’s district heating supply to be 100% climate-neutral by 2030. We focus on electrification and large heat pumps. We want to use geothermal energy for district heating, waste heat from industry, ambient heat from sewage, heat from data centers, and more surplus solar power for daily and seasonal storage. I am.
How are you going to decarbonize the heat supply to buildings that are not already connected to district heating supply?
Currently, there are approximately 400,000 households still receiving gas, and we are aiming to move away from these households. To achieve this objective, our government adopted the strategic plan “Denmark can do more – two” in summer 2022. The goal is to switch to 100% biogas by 2030 and completely eliminate gas supplies to buildings by 2035. This solution is then either a heat pump or a connection to the district heating supply, each approximately half as expensive. To achieve this objective, the Danish government introduced an accelerated heating program. It is based on many years of experience with compulsory urban heat planning, which has been in place in Denmark since 1979 and is an important tool for achieving climate change targets.
What does the accelerated urban heat plan include?
In 2022, all Danish municipalities will have to digitally write to all homeowners still heating with gas within six months, informing them whether they will receive a district heating connection by 2028 was there. If not, affected homeowners must choose other fossil fuel-free homeowners. solution. All local authorities are currently developing implementation plans, in which they calculate and specify exactly when district heating connections will be available in the relevant areas.
Compared to Germany, this is very ambitious and strict. Isn’t there also a heated debate in Denmark over the national policy of banning alcohol at the expense of market freedom and the “little people”?
Actually, no. There is a phenomenon here that we refer to as “political voting”: a broad consensus-oriented agreement supported by all parties. For example, our climate legislation is supported by nine out of ten of his party across all political camps. In Denmark, since the first oil crisis in 1973, there has been widespread support for policies moving away from fossil fuels and towards renewable heat supplies. This includes increasing target prices for energy and CO2 gas, oil and coal. Tax. Heating your home with gas is currently the most expensive option, while district heating is significantly cheaper.
How much does district heating currently cost in Denmark?
Currently, the average cost of district heating for a standard home with an annual consumption of 18.1 megawatt hours is just under 2,000 euros per year. Transparency is also important here. The approximately 400 companies that manufacture and sell district heating in Denmark are required to notify the Danish Electricity Regulatory Authority of their prices twice a year. The Inspection Bureau will then publish the prices on the internet. Companies are also legally required to provide district heating not only as climate-neutral as possible, but also as cost-effectively as possible, with profits distributed or reinvested to customers. Additionally, many district heating companies are organized as cooperatives and are citizen-funded or owned by local governments.
Also of interest: Power2X plants for green fuels and district heating
So is there no cross-financing of other municipal services of general interest through income from district heating supply?
No, cross-financing is not allowed and you will not benefit from district heating. Comunale Bank, which includes all cities and municipalities in Denmark, plays a key role in municipalities’ long-term investments in the expansion of climate-neutral heat supplies. We offer corporate financing on favorable terms. Furthermore, the municipality is the central authority for thermal planning in Denmark and must approve all projects. Overall, district heating supply in Denmark is much more tightly regulated than in Germany.
How is your experience in the field of thermal planning and urban heat supply expansion being communicated to Germany’s neighboring countries?
On many levels. Through consultations and workshops, we work closely with the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs, associations and local authorities, as well as with the federal states of Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg, as well as with individual local authorities. . For example, the state of Baden-Württemberg used our technical catalog as a guide when implementing a municipal thermal plan, and we helped create a thermal planning guide and a municipal heat register.
MAN Energy Solutions
We borrow from many things from Germany to Denmark to improve heat transfer. Our cooperation is a two-way knowledge transfer across borders. For example, funding programs, competence centers in heat transfer, and technologies such as geothermal energy and waste heat.
How important is a solid data infrastructure for municipal thermal planning?
This is very important. However, local governments need to take a pragmatic approach here. Your heating plan does not need to be 100% complete before you begin. Municipal thermal planning is a process. Further political decisions may be incorporated here and the plan may become more fleshed out over time. Further digitization and standardization of thermal planning is also important. It also helps local authorities engage key local stakeholders such as industrial companies, hospitals, data centers and schools, as well as electricity and gas network operators, to identify potential heat applications and agree plans. Collecting is also very important.
Did you miss that?More solar PPAs to be installed in Denmark
What other “levers” do you think are important in the transformation of heat supply? What are the “lessons learned” here?
In addition to transparency, security of investment and suitable framework conditions for local authorities, diversification is important when switching to climate-neutral district heating supply. Denmark has traditionally focused on biomass. Including more energy sources, electrification and sector coupling will also increase the security of supply and the resilience of the energy system as a whole. That is why we are currently significantly expanding solar power in Denmark. Large-scale solar thermal power plants are also a key element of our heating transition, with our installed capacity of 1.2 gigawatts. Seasonal storage systems can be used to store solar heat, solar, and wind power when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing. This is cheaper than battery storage and creates added value for the entire energy system.
Thank you for the interview!
The interview was conducted by Hans-Christoph Neidlein.