Utilities association fears district heating plans unattainable following budget cuts
Rheinische Post
Reaching Germany's district heating goals was put in jeopardy following planned cuts to the country's 2025 budget, local utilities association VKU warned, as reported by the Rheinische Post. The government's draft budget plans, which coalition parties agreed to on 19 August, were causing uncertainty and destroying trust, VKU head Ingbert Liebing told the paper. "We will not achieve the federal government's declared goal of tripling the share of district heating by 2045 with the funding allocated" to the federal subsidy for efficient heating networks, Liebing said.
Annual state support worth 3.4 billion euros would be necessary for investments and the operation of district heating in the years until 2030, a July report commissioned by the association had found. However, the government allocated just under 3.4 billion euros between 2025 and 2029 to the Federal Funding for Efficient Heating Networks scheme.
The government has previously stated the aim of connecting 100,000 buildings to district heating every year, with energy efficiency association AGFW claiming about half of German households could be heated in a climate-friendly way through the method. Cuts to the government’s climate fund come on the back of a court ruling in November last year, where Germany’s top court ruled that the government’s funding plans for climate and energy programmes was unlawful.
