Inter-municipal heat planning in the district of Lörrach

All 35 municipalities in the district have joined forces to tackle municipal heat planning. The aim: to develop a joint concept for a climate-neutral heat supply. The first concrete measures are now being implemented.

The path from the kick-off to the formulation of the next stages was a long one. The first step on the agenda was to develop a valid data basis. As with all projects, it is a high priority in municipal heat planning to work cleanly. Our software bundles data from various sources and makes it available on a platform that can be used by all stakeholders. The data sources include, for example, satellite images, census data, climate data, data from network operators, municipal utilities and local authorities as well as – quite classically – records from chimney sweeps. At the moment, only the greenventory software can provide a data basis of this depth.

Municipal heat planning is one of the key tools for a successful energy transition. Heat consumption in residential and non-residential buildings must be covered in a climate-friendly way in the future. With the help of municipal heat planning, potentials are identified and suitable areas for heat networks as well as possibilities for decentralised heat supply are identified.

The example of Lörrach is a special case, as the heat planning was carried out for the entire district. This includes three large district towns and 32 towns and municipalities. Planning is more extensive with many players, but larger areas are more helpful for discovering synergy effects. To this end, numerous workshops were organised in the consortium with endura Kommunal and Ifok in order to involve the public and key stakeholders and identify measures. For example, the waste heat from the chemical plant in Rheinfelden in the south can also be utilised beyond the city limits.

It is also important to note that local conditions and legal regulations can change at any time. It is therefore extremely important to be able to customise the data. With the greenventory software, you can make changes in real time. Planning – even of different scenarios – is thus possible in just a few clicks. This is a huge advantage for all parties involved in the project.