According to a press release dated 4 September, the City of Dortmund has developed an initial scenario for future heat energy sources in Dortmund. The aim is to achieve a more sustainable and climate-neutral heat supply as part of the heat transition. Previous results of the potential analysis for the entire city area, which has not yet been fully finalised, are now to be presented to the city council.
In the development of its Energy Utilisation Plan (ENP), which Dortmund had already submitted at the end of 2021 - long before the legislator published the framework conditions for municipal heat planning - green gases such as hydrogen and cooling are also important in addition to heat and electricity supply. Although the law does not take electricity grids into account, it formally goes beyond the city's energy utilisation plan when it comes to heat, meaning that the city administration still needs ‘the specific mandate from the council’ for ‘the heat planning that has now been specified’.
ENP: basis for planning and implementation decisions
Around 50% of greenhouse gas emissions in Dortmund's energy sector come from the provision of heat, which is strongly reflected in the first version of the ENP.
The so-called „digital twin“ is a central working tool for analysing the relevant urban energy flows „from as much real data as possible“. This enables the simulation of as many different scenarios as possible.
Both the city's energy infrastructure and ‘the condition of all Dortmund buildings and their energy efficiency’ are recorded in the ENP. This data is then combined with socio-economic data.
Initial survey results: Existing buildings and other potential
„Only around 41% of existing residential buildings have an energy efficiency class of E or better. The remaining 59% of residential buildings are class F or worse“, the city announces. „Unrenovated old buildings or post-war buildings perform particularly badly. Dortmund's building stock therefore has great potential for refurbishment. A very good refurbishment can save over 80 % of the thermal energy used. Potential for the expansion of heating networks has also been recognised: Some areas with increased or high heat demand density are not yet connected to a centralised heat supply.“
According to the City of Dortmund, Emschergenossenschaft and Lippeverband provided facts „on the waste heat potential of sewers and sewage treatment plants“.
Further individual potentials (contractors of the city, DEW21 and greenventory), which were identified on the basis of extensive data with the help of AI, include other renewable energy potentials such as biomass, solar and geothermal energy, air heat pumps and refurbishment potential.
„Target grid“ divided into three area categories
The city divides its areas into three categories for „the target grid“:
- Areas for decentralised heat supply (individual supply, e.g. heat pumps, biomass heating or gas heating with biomethane)
- Heating network areas (sub-area that could be supplied by an existing or planned heating network)
- Test areas (many factors are still unknown here)
Detailed information can be found here.
Outlook
The City of Dortmund plans to finalise the first version of the ENP by the end of the year and then update it on an ongoing basis. The municipal heating plans are expected to be finalised in June 2025.
