Guide and technology catalog for heat planning

On behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building (BMWSB), ifeu, in collaboration with several partners, has produced the ‘Heat Planning Guide – Recommendations on Methodological Approaches for Municipalities and Other Planning Authorities’ and the accompanying ‘Technology Catalogue’.

The heat planning guide is primarily intended for those who carry out heat planning or are responsible for and supervise its implementation: it is therefore aimed primarily at municipalities, districts or other planning authorities and their service providers. In addition, stakeholders who must or may be involved in the heat planning process are provided with information on how and when they can contribute. These include local government departments that are not primarily responsible but are affected, operators of energy supply and heating networks, large consumers from industry, commerce or the housing sector, social, cultural or other public service institutions, chambers of crafts and renewable energy communities.

The guide follows the structure of the heat planning process and provides step-by-step instructions as well as lots of practical tips and advice. The ifeu and its partners also provided technical support during the legislative process.

Furthermore, the technology catalogue provides a coordinated and scientifically sound set of parameters that can be used for the quantitative assessment of the economic efficiency and climate impact of different supply options.

The guide and technical catalogue were developed on the basis of intensive discussions with experts. In addition to the members of the consortium, selected experts were invited to participate in expert dialogues on the guide and the accompanying technical catalogue.

In addition, consultation events with representatives of the federal states, local authorities and associations were held by the German Energy Agency (dena). Many of the stakeholders supported the process by submitting additional written comments. The feedback from the dialogue events and the written comments were incorporated into the further development of the guidelines and technology catalogue. The consortium would like to thank all participants for their valuable support and the very fruitful exchange.

Finally, the documents were prepared by ifeu for the target audience and given a professional layout.