Citizen survey on climate-neutral heat supply started in Duggendorf!

Citizen survey on climate-neutral heat supply started in Duggendorf!

An important citizen survey on municipal heat planning (KWP) will start in Duggendorf on September 2, 2025. The survey, which was launched on August 12, 2025, pursues the ambitious goal of supplying the city with climate-neutral heat by 2045 at the latest. The KWP is a strategic planning instrument of the federal government that analyzes the current heat supply and the potential for a sustainable energy supply. The aim is to create clarity about the renewable energies available and to promote the expansion of heating networks and options for owners when modernizing their heating system. The involvement of the population is seen as central in order to create a realistic inventory analysis that is fed with anonymized data on the heat supply to citizens. Further information is available on the Duggendorf municipality homepage.

Importance of heat supply in Germany

Heat supply in Germany is crucial as it accounts for more than 50% of final energy consumption and has a significant share of CO2 emissions. As the Federal Government reports, around 80% of heat demand is covered by fossil fuels such as gas and oil. Almost 41 million households in Germany currently heat with these fuels, with around every second household using gas and a quarter using heating oil. District heating, which currently accounts for 14% of heat supply, is also predominantly generated from fossil fuels. The increase in heating costs last year as a result of rising prices for gas and oil illustrates the urgency of the planned heating transition.

Future heat supply should increasingly rely on renewable energies and unavoidable waste heat. In this context, strategic planning at the municipal level is required. A law on heat planning, which was passed by the Bundestag on November 17, 2023 and by the Bundesrat on December 15, 2023, will come into force on January 1, 2024. It creates the legal framework for nationwide heat planning in Germany and contains specifications for the creation of heat plans.

Status of municipal heat planning

The current status of municipal heat planning in Germany is promising. How DEEA reported, there are a total of 10,775 municipalities in Germany. 530 municipalities (5%) have already completed heat planning, while 775 municipalities (44%) are in the planning process. Almost half of all municipalities are active in this process. However, differences between the federal states are striking; For example, in Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate, many small municipalities have to submit their plans by June 2028.

In order to efficiently master the challenges of heat planning, many communities have joined forces to form convoys. In Rhineland-Palatinate, 85%, in Thuringia 84% and in Lower Saxony 89% of the municipalities have joined these associations. The KWW Heat Transition Atlas, a newly published atlas, offers an overview of the status quo of heat planning and is continually updated.

The statutory deadlines for drawing up heat plans are grouped by population, with municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants having to submit their plans by June 30, 2026 and smaller municipalities by June 30, 2028. Simplified procedures are available for communities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. The law also enables the introduction of hydrogen networks as a heat supply option.

Overall, it is clear that municipal heat planning is a central instrument for the heat transition in Germany. The next steps are crucial to ensure cost-efficient and climate-friendly heat supply by 2045 and to facilitate the transition to a sustainable energy future.