The Need for Local Thermal Energy Planning

Space heat has a great share in total energy consumption--complemented by an increasing energy demand for space cooling--and is responsible for a high share of carbon dioxide emissions in the building sector. Energy and climate change policies therefore require a transition to a climate-friendly thermal energy supply. These changes will have to consider spatial characteristics on the local level, because thermal energy supply relates to spatial structure. Urban density, population structure, existing infrastructure, and locations of renewable energies are factors that characterize thermal energy supply as a spatially relevant topic, and suggest its consideration in spatial planning on the local level. What local thermal energy planning might look like is still an open question. In older literature, the example of energy planning in Denmark has been discussed, but also the current example of Swiss spatial energy planning might be an interesting impulse for future research on local thermal energy planning.