Need an Open Door for Open Data Good planning needs good data. Unfortunately, centralised access to energy-related geodata through databases and platforms is rarely available. This must be addressed at the national level, with an obligation for energy utilities and network operators to publish their data. The flip side of consumption data is access to building-related data (age, surface area, energy performance) to see where targeted interventions with public money can be made in private building stock for larger system- level benefits. Even where some of this data does exist and can be accessed by local authorities, it is rarely sufficiently detailed, accurate, and updated to allow the complex modeling and data treatment necessary for exceptional heating and cooling planning. What else needs to be done locally and nationally? There should be a legal mandate to force utilities to comply with local heating and cooling plans. While cities can often regulate district heating systems, the plans are frequently not reflected in gas infrastructure planning. Similarly, all legal obligations to connect buildings to natural gas networks must end. And again, cities should be able to quickly rule out some heating technologies from the building stock to achieve their climate goals. Nationally, the level of technical support is vital – especially for smaller cities. One national agency or ministry should be responsible for coordinating support for local authorities and launching a national program involving academic and scientific experts, local authorities, energy suppliers and distribution system operators, social housing, industries, and the building sector. This program should propose guidelines and tools and update them with new knowledge and lessons learned over the years. This technical support (both online and in-person) should include step-by-step guidance, calculation methodologies, tools, costs, etc., as well as training, peer-to-peer exchanges, working groups, and expertise. Amongst that expertise should be a list of trustworthy consulting companies that can support local authorities.
What did the EU ever do for us? The EU’s green deal includes many complementary measures to local heating and cooling plans that also need to be considered. National governments must plan to phase out fossil fuel boilers by 2040 (leaving the door open for biomethane and hydrogen boilers). Minimum energy performance standards were introduced, which are supposed to target the worst-performing buildings first. There is the mandatory use of waste heat from data centres, an installation level cost-benefit analysis for other waste heat producers, and a non-binding target to increase the share of energy from renewable sources and waste heat in district heating by 2.2 %/year from 2021 to 2030. So, is this the moment we kick out fossil fuels? This is still an open question. Because so many of the challenges remain in the hands of national EU governments, it seems clear that different countries will move at different speeds. But there is so much that can be learned from the front-running countries to transform the laggards into leaders themselves.
For further information please contact: Adrian Hiel, adrian.hiel@energy-cities.eu
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