By Stephen Peter
What’s in store for the Berliners? Vattenfall Wärme wants to completely phase out gas and coal by 2040, instead relying on hydrogen and heat pumps. The company does not reveal how this is reflected in the tariffs.
The goals are ambitious: by 2040, Vattenfall wants to make heat generation completely climate-neutral. The plan is to completely phase out coal as early as 2030 (currently 18 percent), and the share of gas is being reduced further and further.
In order to continue to supply Berliners with district heating, the company will in future rely on hydrogen, biomass, heat pumps, waste recycling and geothermal energy (earth heat).
In cooperation with the BSR, the steam is already being used in the Ruhleben waste incineration plant. Vattenfall intends to install a waste water heat pump at the neighboring sewage treatment plant of the water company to supply 45,000 households. The company intends to invest more than three billion euros in Berlin by 2030.
Overall, Vattenfall supplies around one and a half million Berliners with district heating, the lines in the capital measure a total of 2000 kilometers. Further expansion is planned, especially in Spandau, Prenzlauer Berg and Schöneberg.
The problem with the eco-plans: Green hydrogen currently costs up to 16 cents/kWh, which is significantly more than gas at 12 cents/kWh. And the green hope is scarce! “Without hydrogen imports, there will be nothing,” admits Vattenfall-Wärme boss Christian Feuerherd. Hydrogen produced in Germany would be even more expensive – according to a study, it could even cost 25 cents/kWh in 2030!
So what price increases can Berliners expect for district heating? “There are no specific prices in cents per kWh yet,” it says evasively from Vattenfall Wärme.
In order to influence consumer prices, the state of Berlin would like to buy the company (owned by the Swedish state). What would the Senate have to put on the table for Vattenfall? “I can’t answer the question,” said Feuerherd to the BZ