Together for green heat: Cities in the district are working on a heating transition

Together for green heat: Cities in the district are working on a heating transition

A groundbreaking cooperation has begun in the district! The cities of Stadthagen, Bückeburg and Obernkirchen as well as the municipalities of Nienstädt, Eilsen, Niedernwöhren and Lindhorst are joining forces for a pioneering project: municipal heat planning (KWP). This is coordinated with the support of the Schaumburg-Lippe public utility company and aims to radically accelerate the move away from fossil fuels!

The KWP aims to develop long-term strategies that guarantee a sustainable, cost-efficient and decentralized heat supply. The big plan? Lower Saxony should be free of fossil fuels by 2040 at the latest! Renewable energies, waste heat and even district heating networks are the focus of future heat supply.

No obligations for consumers!

But what does this actually mean for citizens? Anja Steffen-Ohme, spokeswoman for the municipal utilities, makes one thing clear: “The KWP does not entail any direct obligations for end consumers!” Instead, it is viewed as strategic planning that gathers important data but does not have an immediate impact on heat consumption. Theoretically, however, there could be political decisions in the future that introduce municipal connection requirements for district heating.

A tender is currently underway for a specialist institute that will take over KWP development for the member communities. The goal is to complete this by the end of 2026! For this forward-looking planning, the municipalities are investing a total of 60,000 euros in the tender, while the KWP itself is expected to cost around 450,000 euros. Together we hope to achieve synergies and an exchange of know-how in order to efficiently use the regional potential