Climate protection for municipalities and districts: municipal heat planning, climate protection concepts and energy use plans
Climate protection is an obligation and challenging to implement. Districts and municipalities play a central role in this. They can promote renewable energies, consumption savings and decisions for climate protection within their sphere of influence.
A solid foundation for the planning processes is always an assessment of the current situation. Potential for energy savings and conversion to renewable energies is identified. Future paths for reducing emissions and achieving greenhouse gas neutrality are outlined. The study results provide clarity and completeness. Above all, however, they serve to comprehensively address the task of climate protection on the basis of practical, coordinated action plans.
bifa offers continuous and consistent involvement of local stakeholders in these studies. Emerging technologies and innovations are taken into account. Interdisciplinary project teams consisting of engineers, natural scientists, economists and professional moderators work on the projects and ensure the quality of the results.
Municipal heat planning aims to save energy and reduce fossil fuel use in the heating sector. Around 80% of heat is currently still supplied by natural gas and oil. The heat plan provides transparency on heat demand at the level of individual apartment buildings and identifies potential for renovation. It shows where and how renewable heat sources or waste heat can be used, how heating networks should be established or expanded, and what measures a municipality should take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the heating sector to zero along a transformation path. Municipal heat planning is mandatory for municipalities under the Heat Planning Act. The costs are reimbursed (see, for example, for Bavaria https://www.stmwi.bayern.de/energie/energiewende/kommunale-waermeplanung-in-bayern).
Climate protection concepts focus more strongly on climate protection management. In addition to inventory and potential analysis, they include climate protection targets, target scenarios, a moderated creation process, and consolidation and monitoring. The mobility sector and non-energy-related fields of action can also be included. Climate protection concepts are funded by the federal government through the municipal guideline (www.klimaschutz.de/de/foerderung/foerderprogramme/kommunalrichtlinie) or, for example, in the Bavarian KommKlimaFör programme (www.stmuv.bayern.de/themen/klimaschutz/kommunal).
In the context of or following the project formats mentioned above, bifa offers detailed and focused studies as well as implementation support.
We support you in your municipal heat planning, climate protection concept or energy use plan with:
- Comprehensive data collection and analysis
- Involvement of local knowledge and action providers (participation process)
- Energy and greenhouse gas accounting according to BISKO or GPC
- Georeferenced evaluations and potential presentations
- Potential for energy savings and energy efficiency improvements in the areas of heating and electricity, potential for renewable energies
- Targets, target scenarios and development paths
- Detailed measures and action plans
- Establishment of a climate protection management system