Lease agreement renewed
The town of Pohlheim and SWG are continuing their partnership in the field of heating.
When it comes to decarbonisation in the heating sector, it is worth considering local or district heating solutions. This is precisely what Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) already offers in many local authorities – including Pohlheim. In fact, SWG operates heating networks in five districts. In total, more than 100 homes currently receive heating from SWG. The town itself also uses district heating for various municipal facilities, such as the town hall, community centres, nurseries and sports halls. To enable the further expansion of local and district heating, the town of Pohlheim and SWG have renewed the necessary right-of-way agreement. This entitles SWG to lay the necessary pipes within the town of Pohlheim for the next 20 years.
There is great potential lying dormant in Pohlheim’s existing, largely stand-alone solutions. “They can serve as a starting point for further expansion of district heating,” explains Thomas Wagner, who is responsible for supporting local authorities at SWG. And this will give the town an advantage. Like all local authorities with fewer than 100,000 residents, Pohlheim must submit a Local Heating Plan by 30 June 2028. District heating is likely to play a key role in this. “SWG has repeatedly demonstrated its expertise in heating. So it is only logical for us to keep district heating as a genuine option,” explains Mayor Andreas Ruck on the occasion of the contract signing.
Still a good choice
District heating remains a genuine alternative to individual heating systems even after the Building Modernisation Act – the successor to the Building Energy Act – comes into force. This is because the Building Modernisation Act also provides for a gradual increase in the share of renewable energy sources used for heat generation. This means that anyone operating their own heating system must ensure that it meets the relevant requirements by the applicable deadline. District heating customers do not need to worry about such matters. “We’ll take care of that,” promises SWG board member Matthias Funk. His fellow board member Andreas Hergaß adds: “It goes without saying that we plan and operate our fleet of plants in such a way that it always complies with the applicable regulations.”