Dear Dr Fatih Birol and Dear IEA,
Thank you for the 10-point plan to reduce the reliance on Russian Natural gas. We fully support the 10 points mentioned here and would also like to highlight the work done by IEA on e.g. the energy efficiency agenda. We find the 10-point plan highly relevant and applaud the speed with which you managed to give a very clear signal to the world on this important matter.
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As a district heating organisation with the purpose to support sustainable city development world-wide, i.e., help countries and cities to develop district heating as part of their sustainable future, we regret that district heating does not have a more prominent position in the 10-point plan. Allow us to introduce Danish Board of District Heating (DBDH) shortly. We are a Danish membership organisation dedicated to support the development of district heating world-wide. Our members are a combination of the largest Danish district heating companies, consulting engineers and manufacturing companies.
We find that a conversion from gas heating to district heating can play an important part in the current crisis - also within the framework given in the 10-point plan. District heating is in many cases capable of making significant contributions both in the short term and off course also in a medium- and long-term perspective. With the substantial support mechanism needed to reduce the reliance on Russian natural gas, we anticipate that district heating can bring results at the same scale and importance as other of the means you bring forward, maybe even at a lower long-term cost. District heating will also keep Europe on route towards the green agenda or at least provide a highway back to the green agenda after the crisis – where heat infrastructure interacts with other energy infrastructures to build an efficient and integrated green transition for society.
District heating will be an important, low-cost, and green tool in the toolbox towards less Russian natural gas, especially under the conditions set in your plan (very short term, substantial economic support, and risk of increased prices). It is among other things possible within short time to connect building to existing networks and to change from one heat source to another - in many situations from day to day or from heating season to heating season. Extending existing networks to next-door areas can also be done quickly, and existing plan to develop both new networks and sustainable heat sources can be accelerated. The impact of these actions is substantial, and they should be calculated and included in the plan.
A strong argument in favour of district heating is, that it is a tool that will not jeopardize the green transition in the future. District heating will play an important role in the future smart energy infrastructure and therefore is a no-regret solution.
We encourage you to include district heating much more in your 10-point plan. Maybe to the extent that you add a 11th recommendation.
Best regards,
on behalf of
Jørgen Nielsen
Chairman of the board, DBDH
Managing director, TVIS
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