German municipalities push ahead with heat‑planning, 80% on track

Germany’s municipal heat‑planning law, which came into force in early 2024, requires all local authorities to submit a heat plan by the end of 2028. Robert Brückmann, head of the Kommunale Wärmewende (KWW) centre in Halle, said around 80 % of medium‑sized towns are already active in the process, and the country’s largest cities are expected to meet the deadline by mid‑2026.

Out of roughly 10,700 German municipalities, most are small with fewer than 10,000 residents; more than half of these have already begun or completed their plans. The aim is to replace gas and oil heating nationwide by 2045, with many communes already exploring district‑heat networks, heat pumps, biomass and industrial waste‑heat options. KWW plans to collect and pool the data from the upcoming plans to support future decisions on electricity transmission and other infrastructure.