Below article is very positive to VUL too. In future Geothermal will play huge part.

HEIDELBERG BEGINS PLANNING A CLIMATE-NEUTRAL MUNICIPAL HEATING SUPPLY

12/15/21|News

According to the Baden-Württemberg Climate Protection Act, all urban districts and large district towns are obliged to submit a sustainable heating plan by 2023.The state is providing funds totaling 170,000 euros for this purpose.

Heidelberg wants to convert its municipal heat supply to climate-neutral energy sources by 2040.Due to its favorable location, the university city could soon benefit from geothermal energy.Image source: Brina Blum / Unsplash

The decarbonization of the heating sector is probably the greatest challenge on the way to climate neutrality. Cities and rural districts in particular are now asked to develop ways towards an emission-free heat supply.To this end, the Heidelberg Environment Agency, in cooperation with the municipal utilities, issued a tender for projects on municipal heating planning.According to the Climate Protection Act of the state of Baden-Württemberg, Heidelberg is obliged to submit a sustainable heating plan by 2023.The state is providing funds of 170,000 euros to implement the planning.Based on the data available, the heat generation for Heidelberg district heating will be 80 percent CO₂-neutral by 2030, according to the interim report.

Heidelberg's Mayor for Climate Protection, Environment and Mobility, Raoul Schmidt-Lamontain, has clear words about the potential use of geothermal energy for Heidelberg: “We simply cannot allow ourselves to leave the potential of geothermal energy untapped in terms of a safe and climate-friendly energy supply - and especially so In the Upper Rhine Graben, the geological conditions for use are very good

In four steps to the heat transition

With municipal heating planning, a strategy for climate-neutral heating supply by 2040 is being developed.The implementation is to take place in four steps: The current heat demand and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions are determined with an analysis of the current situation.Then the potentials for energy saving, renewable energies and waste heat are determined.From this, a scenario for a climate-neutral heat supply is developed and an energy and greenhouse gas balance is presented according to sectors and energy sources for 2030 and 2040.

50 percent of the city's heat is currently supplied by district heating, and almost 50 percent is also provided by natural gas and heating oil.Using the Heidelberg example, a climate-neutral heat supply requires a conversion of district heating to renewable sources and a move away from fossil fuels.

Action plan for “green” district heating

As part of the climate action plan, the city of Heidelberg has formulated the following goals in order to transform district heating from conventional, coal-based district heating from combined heat and power to "green" district heating:

• 50 percent CO₂-neutral heat for all district heating customers by 2020 from combined heat and power, as well as from biomethane combined heat and power plants and a wood-burning power plant (target already achieved)
• A third of the district heating in Heidelberg is to be generated by 2025
• The district heating supply should be largely CO₂-neutral by 2030

Geothermal energy Hardt

In the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region, the energy companies EnBW and MVV received an exploration permit for the so-called “Hardt” area.Above all, the alliance wants to explore the potential of deep geothermal energy.The aim is to build and operate geothermal heating plants to supply the region with district heating.By the end of 2022, preliminary geological and hydrogeological investigations are to be carried out on the approximately 270 square kilometer exploration area.

The Hardt exploration area covers 270 km².Soon Mannheim as well as Heidelberg and Speyer could benefit from geothermal energy.

With the move away from fossil fuels, Heidelberg's climate-friendly energy sources must be tapped for future energy supplies.The city welcomes the use of geothermal energy and will benefit from the "Geothermal Hardt" project in the future, as around 10 percent of the exploration area is in the Heidelberg district