The “Voluntary Municipal Heat Planning” funding program in Baden-Württemberg was in high demand, especially in the second half of 2023. The state has now increased the funding pot and provided funds for around 230 additional municipalities.
Baden-Württemberg is also providing around 5.8 million euros for voluntary municipal heat planning. “I am pleased that we can support around 230 more municipalities,” says Energy Minister Thekla Walker. The “Voluntary Municipal Heat Planning” funding program was in high demand, especially in the second half of 2023. Most recently, in May 2024, the state was able to approve applications from 69 municipalities in an eighth funding tranche. But the funds available at the time were not sufficient for all applications submitted. “We have worked hard to ensure that additional funding is made available so that all municipalities in the state that submitted an application by the deadline can be offered funding. And we were successful,” says Walker. “This enables us to support half of the municipalities in Baden-Württemberg that have not yet been legally obliged to do so with municipal heat planning.” A total of 12.2 million euros have so far been available for voluntary municipal heat planning.
According to the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Energy Sector, 476 municipalities in Baden-Württemberg are voluntarily undertaking heat planning. The 104 large district towns and urban districts are currently legally obliged to do so. “Overall, around half of the municipalities in Baden-Württemberg have now started or have already completed heat planning. A remarkable 80 percent of the population now have a roadmap in sight that shows them how they can heat in a climate-friendly way in the future,” says Walker. “The citizens benefit from Baden-Württemberg’s pioneering role in municipal heat planning through early orientation, as do the municipalities, which can plan and put out to tender, and the trades, which can coordinate their orders.”
At the beginning of the year, however, the environmental association BUND criticized the quality of many heating plans in Baden-Württemberg.
New map: Overview of the situation in the municipalities
A new map in the energy atlas of the Baden-Württemberg State Agency for the Environment (LUBW) provides a good overview of the current status of municipal heat planning in the state. It is publicly accessible and shows which municipality is where in terms of heat planning – whether it is mandatory or voluntary. The database distinguishes between planning that has not yet begun, planning that has begun, planning that has been submitted to the authorities and planning that has already been checked. The LUBW updates the map, which can be found under this link, at the beginning of every month.
Funding program “Voluntary municipal heat planning” continues
The Project Management Agency Karlsruhe (PTKA) is currently working on reviewing and approving the funding applications. Municipalities can continue to submit applications for the “Voluntary Municipal Heat Planning” funding program.
Due to the requirements of the Federal Heat Planning Act (WPG), all municipalities will in future be obliged to draw up a heat plan. Baden-Württemberg intends to implement the WPG as part of the amendment to the Baden-Württemberg Climate Protection and Climate Change Adaptation Act (KlimaG BW), probably at the beginning of 2025. Heat planning will then be a mandatory task for municipalities, which will be financed with so-called connectivity payments.
