DOES GAS HAVE A FUTURE FOR HEATING BUILDINGS?
Søren Magnussen, Senior Consultant, Danish District Heating Association
Sigrid Friis Frederiksen, Lead candidate for the political party, Radikale Venstre for the EP 2024
Establishing district heating on a large scale could reduce the import demand for gas in Europe. Establishing district heating (DH) across Europe will ensure heat supply in the most economically optimal way to benefit citizens and the entire energy system. DH, together with good regulation, can guarantee that European households can look into a future where the heating of household costs less, could protect against energy poverty, and ensure the local economy. DH properly connected in dense urban areas can be delivered at very low prices. Investments are substantial, or the prize can be very low over the long term. Biogas production is continuously expanding, but the green gas must be used in industry and production, not for heating households. Biogas should not take over significantly and will be taken up by other users willing to pay the most. Multi-sourced DH is the right heating option when people live close together, and heat pumps should cover the rest – this article argues why gas is not an option. The Russian gas adventure in the EU In the years before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the share of Russian natural gas in the European gas system had signif- icantly increased over a decade. Primarily driven by Germany, which pushed the idea, made agreements, and established an investment in new gas pipelines. That included the now-fa- mous and long-gone pipelines “Nordstream 1” and Nord-
stream 2“in the Baltic Sea, which ended up being sabotaged. However, sharp warnings about dependence on Russian gas started to be heard. Rounded up very sharply, one could say that the fundamental explanation for increasing gas trading with Russia was that it was an important diplomatic move in the belief that economic ties on both sides would ensure a future without aggression. However, it was also about the fact that the Germans were in the process of retiring significant nuclear power resources and, to replace this electricity production, natural gas-generated electricity would reach new levels of demand. A step further to the East, Poland was in the process of retir- ing coal as an energy source for electricity production. It made them 100% dependent on Gazprom’s deliveries without an alternative. Poland, therefore, took steps to establish a new natural gas pipeline from Norway through Denmark. Initially, the pipeline should have been functioning as a substitution al- ternative in a future with significant European dependence on Russian natural gas supplies through the North Sea. A gas con- nection that initially seemed like a very expensive insurance policy, however, ended up being a crucial piece in solving the natural gas crisis. Russia’s prominent natural gas exports to Europe appeared peaceful. They culminated with Gazprom as the primary spon- sor of the top football tournament, the Champions League,
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