The work was structured into three decisive steps and related key results: (1) a common heating and cooling outlook, (2) taylored heating and cooling plans and (3) transition roadmaps.
The first task was to established local working groups to discuss in detail local visions, outlooks for a climate neutral heating and cooling sector, and spatially differentiated heating and cooling plans as well as transition roadmaps. These local working groups included stakeholders from city administrations as well as utilities, grid operators (DSO), First, the cities elaborated a climate neutral “Heating and Cooling Outlook” (by 2050 or earlier). Assumptions about the future energy demand and future energy supply mix were discussed and agreed upon. Key learning in this context: the future availability and role of heating networks and of “renewable gases” (biogas or green hydrogen) is essential, as the answer to these questions has huge implications for infrastructure planning within cities. There was agreement among the partners that green gases will neither be available in sufficient quantities in time for heat decarbonisation nor will they be affordable for customers. Therefore, cities should not rely on the hope to simply replace natural gas by green gases and use existing gas infrastructure for zero-carbon heating.
Based on these insights, the cities aligned their quantitative vision of future demand with local supply conditions, taking into account issues such as “heat demand density”, the availability of infrastructure and on site energy potentials and energy generation capabilities. This resulted in spatially differentiated “Heating and Cooling Plans” (with a “WHAT map” and ideally also a “WHEN map”), which have two main energy systems in common: (1) District heating grids to be created, expanded or densified in dense areas, and (2) heat pumps (in buildings or in micro-grids) for the less dense areas.
In the third step, the cities developed “Transition Roadmaps”. These lay out instruments to be employed, actions, sub-targets and milestones, etc.
In the second half of the project, peer-to-peer learning was supported by “study tours” during which relevant stakeholders of cities visited others and studied different H/C transition strategies in action.
“Beginner cities” also learned from “frontrunner cities”, like Winterthur, about the challenges cities encounter once the necessary legally binding framework for the phase out of oil and gas boilers is in place.
Under the auspices of Energy Cities, the project reached out to a much wider group of cities, not least through the project's active online presence (e.g. website, newsletter, Twitter, etc.) but also with webinars, etc. Guidance for cities, stories from the seven cities as well as heating & cooling plans and roadmaps of the cities are available at the project’s website.
