Starnberg in the heating transition countdown: centralized or decentralized solution?

Starnberg in the heating transition countdown: centralized or decentralized solution?

Time is burning in Starnberg! The city is faced with the challenge of presenting a concept for municipal heat planning by June 30, 2028. This is a requirement of the new heat planning law that was passed in the spring. The decision as to whether a centralized supply network or a decentralized solution is the better choice is moving onto the agenda. While the city administration is still waiting for guidelines from the federal and state governments, the urgency is already noticeable.

“The Moosaik and the FOS are already planning decentrally on their areas,” emphasized Franz Sengl, mayor of the Green Party, and warned of a decline in anchor points for a heating network. At a city council meeting, a specialist lecture was given by climate protection consultant Stefan Bonaldo-Kraft, which highlighted the advantages and disadvantages of the various heat supply strategies. He presented alarming facts: In Germany, over 52 percent of energy consumption comes from heating and cooling, with 83.8 percent of this demand coming from fossil fuels. Starnberg, on the other hand, has so far only met 14 percent of its heat needs from these sources.

A race against time

An efficient local heating network could be lucrative for Starnberg if it manages to attract large consumers such as clinics, schools and the town hall as “anchor customers”. Bonaldo-Kraft explained that the city must first carry out an inventory and a potential analysis in order to identify suitable customers for the network. “Starnberg would undoubtedly have the economic prerequisites,” said the expert optimistically.

Federal funding is key

The city council has decided to align itself with the “Federal Funding for Efficient Heat Planning” (BEW). This provides for feasibility studies that are intended to serve as the basis for funding applications. However, it is expected that the concrete options for funding applications will not be available until 2026. The urgency is undisputed: “The decision is long overdue,” stated Ludwig Jägerhuber (CSU). Mayor Patrick Janik emphasized that the city does not want to act as an operator of a heating network, but there are already engineering offices that are interested in operating it. Starnberg is therefore in a race against time to set the course for a sustainable heat supply!