in Denmark. In the Netherlands, district heating cooperatives are only partially accepted and need to be manifested in pol- icy or implemented in the heat law. In addition, it is possible to make a profit by delivering heat. The Dutch tariff regula- tion is founded on the NMDA principle, which means that the prices should not surpass the costs a natural gas user would have for the same amount of heat – in other words, "a cap." Every year, at the end of December, the ACM (national regu- latory authority) publishes the maximum prices that district heating companies can ask their customers for the heat and cold supply. This is just one of the many examples in the study where there are differences between the conditions for devel- oping cooperative district heating in Denmark and the Neth- erlands. From the Dutch perspective, the analysis works as an inspiration on how to expand cooperative district heating in the Netherlands. From the Danish perspective, the study can be read in the start-up phase of expanding and exporting district heating in the Netherlands because it gives an over- all picture of which differences and similarities between the two countries one can be aware of when working with district heating. First steps toward a Dutch district heating support organization Another aim of the project was to develop a Dutch district heating support structure similar to EBO Consult A/S that ena- bles cooperative initiatives to develop and operate district heat- ing projects. On the 22nd of September 2022, we arranged a meeting with ten cooperatives from across the Netherlands. Every cooperative signed a declaration to develop the support organization jointly, and the first steps toward its development and implementation are already moving ahead. On the following day, the 23rd of September 2022, we held a Dutch conference about how municipalities, public organ- izations, and cooperatives can collaborate to develop pub- lic-civil district heating enterprises. At the conference, there were representatives from Dutch municipalities, Klimaatver- bond, ministries of the Dutch state, and several district heat- ing cooperatives. Representatives from the Danish Embassy in Haag, EBO Consult A/S, and Hvidovre municipality joined the conference. The conference's outcome was a list of build- ing blocks to foster the development of cooperative district heating in the Netherlands. As a direct spin-off from the con-
operative exists, but around 80 initiatives are in the process of establishing a district heating cooperative. In Denmark, there exist about 323 district heating cooperatives. A grant from the Danish Energy Agency For many years EBO Consult A/S has held a lot of presentations about district heating at international seminars and confer- ences. Every time the focus has been on cooperative district heating– how consumers can manage and operate district heating and how the Danish regulations of district heating en- able cooperatives to exist under a not-for-profit regime. After the presentations, there have been numerous requests and questions about district heating, which has often resulted in sparring processes about implementing district heating in various countries. One of the ongoing collaborations has been with Cooperatie Energie Samen, a Dutch membership organi- zation that wishes to support the development of cooperative district heating. In 2020, The Cooperatie Energie Samen and EBO Consult A/S developed an application for the Danish "En- ergy Export Initiatives Grants program." At the end of 2020, we got the happy news that we received a grant. EBO Consult A/S has been sharing know-how with Cooperatie Energie Samen since then. Together, we have written a comparative study of the Danish and Dutch district heating markets focusing on cooperatives. We have taken significant steps to develop the beginning structures of a cooperative support organization that helps local district heating initiatives to grow and be im- plemented. Danish and Dutch comparative study The study investigates cooperative district heating in Den- mark and the Netherlands, where we focus on political, legal, financial, and organizational themes. But also about the roles of municipalities in the heat planning process, the available district heating technologies, the district heating marketing, the tendering process, the construction process of district heating, and the maintenance of district heating. We discov- ered several remarkable differences in cooperative district heating in the two countries during the writing process. In Denmark, district heating cooperatives have existed for many years. They are legally positioned as any other district heating company and are tariff regulated by the non-profit principle, where costs and revenues balance. The principle follows that it is impossible to profit from producing and supplying heat
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