International agreement Includes joint development of standardized global technical guidelines and operational best practices and collaboration on outreach and advocacy
The International District Energy Association (IDEA) and the German Energy Efficiency Association for District Heating, Cooling and CHP, Germany (AGFW) announced the signing of renewal of a memorandum of understanding (MOU), updating and extending a previous agreement.
The agreement will extend the term for another five years and strengthen the ties between the two district energy industry organizations for international collaboration on global technical guidelines, operational best practices and outreach and advocacy.
Both IDEA and AGFW are actively engaged in education, advocacy, promotion and training in the district energy sector, and this agreement will strengthen the bonds between the two organizations. It will also help streamline efforts to grow the industry and ensure that people around the world, and policy makers and government officials in particular, recognize district energy’s importance to the energy transition as a means to increase energy efficiency, reduce harmful emissions, and strengthen local economies through utilization of local, low carbon, and renewable energy sources.
“District energy is a modern, reliable, efficient and resilient way to provide critical heating, cooling and power to people in cities, communities and campuses around the world,” said Rob Thornton, President & CEO, IDEA. “Due to its central plants and economies of scale through a connected network of buildings, once they are connected to a low emissions or renewable energy source, district energy systems have the unique ability to bring low carbon heating, cooling and power to dozens, or even hundreds, of structures – and can accelerate decarbonizing of entire neighborhoods, college and university campuses, hospital complexes or military installations.”
Germany is one of the countries that has realized how beneficial district energy can be and has adopted policies and strategies that feature the technology in plans to reach its net-zero goals. In fact, in 2023, the German government said it planned to connect 100,000 buildings per year to district heating networks, as part of its climate action plan. However, district energy can still be utilized further in Germany and in other countries around the world.
“District energy is a technology that is key for cities to make their goals of becoming climate neutral a reality,” said Werner Lutsch, CEO & Managing Director, AGFW. “We applaud the German government’s plan to connect 100,000 buildings to district energy systems annually, but the technology could be utilized further to help decarbonize nearly half of Germany’s approximately 43 million households, especially when connected to apartment buildings and other buildings in densely populated city centers.”
The MOU was signed at the 115th Annual Conference & Trade Show for IDEA, taking place in Orlando, FL.
About IDEA
The International District Energy Association (IDEA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit industry association founded in the United States in 1909. IDEA now has a membership of nearly 3,000 industry professionals representing more than 30 countries around the world. IDEA’s mission is to actively foster the success of its members as leaders in providing reliable, economical, efficient and environmentally sound district heating, district cooling and combined heat and power to optimize energy efficiency, emissions reductions and sustainable solutions for mission-critical and community-scale markets.
About AGFW
AGFW is the independent efficiency association that for the past 50 years has supported the development and expansion of district energy and combined heat and power (CHP) in Germany, Austria and Switzerland using renewable energies for heating as well as district heating networks. Its more than 700 members are operators of district energy and CHP plants, as well as service companies and technology companies in the field. AGFW represents approximately 95% of the heat load connected to German district heating systems – the largest scale in Western Europe.
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