The plan for phasing out oil and gas boilers in government buildings must show the way towards a future without fossil heating. The phase-out plan shows that the state is ahead of the general development in phasing out oil and gas boilers in Danish households, and that the state's buildings will largely be free of oil and gas boilers in 2035.
With Climate Agreement on green electricity and heat 2022 a broad majority in the Danish Parliament agreed that a plan should be drawn up for the phasing out of fossil heating from oil and gas boilers in the state's buildings.
As a follow-up, the Danish Energy Agency has obtained information on all oil and gas boilers in government buildings from the individual ministries, which have also been asked to decide when they are expected to be phased out and which heating source the oil or gas boiler is expected to be replaced with.
" It is crucial for the green transition that we replace our fossil heating with green alternatives in the form of, for example, district heating or heat pumps. The phase-out plan is an important step towards becoming free of fossil heating in the state, and it shows that the public sector is leading the way. It has required a great deal of work, which all government institutions have contributed to by mapping all their oil and gas boilers, determining an expected phase-out date and alternative heating source. At the same time, however, we must ensure that the plan does not stop here, but that it is continuously followed up as part of the state's efforts for energy efficiency," says Deputy Director of the Danish Energy Agency Stine Leth Rasmussen.
From black to green heating
By 2026, almost a quarter of all existing oil and gas boilers in the state are expected to have been converted to a green heating source. By 2031, more than 60 percent of oil and gas boilers in the state will be phased out compared to 2023, and by 2035, virtually all existing oil and gas boilers in the state – over 98 percent – are expected to be phased out.
The expected phasing out of oil and gas boilers in the state broadly follows the expected general phasing out of oil and gas boilers in Danish households up to and including 2034, when following the Climate status and projection 2023. In 2035, however, it is expected that the state will have phased out 98 percent of all oil and gas boilers, as opposed to 66 percent of all oil and gas boilers in households, compared to 2023.
The phasing-out plan will be followed up in continuation of the existing efforts on energy efficiency in the state's institutions, which are administered by the Danish Energy Agency. The individual ministries are, among other things, responsible for reporting energy efficiency plans every two years, which contain a plan for phasing out oil and gas boilers. The next report is due in the summer of 2024.
Facts
• There are currently 145 oil boilers and 439 gas boilers used for heating in state buildings. It is spread over 11 ministries and includes everything from castles, office buildings and toilet buildings.
• The phase-out plan includes all primary and secondary oil and gas boilers associated with state-owned buildings as well as state-financed self-owned institutions. Private leases are not included, corresponding to 183 oil and gas boilers.
• For 13 gas boilers, where there is no expected year for phasing out, due to a lack of clarification on the possibility of district heating, the year 2028 is indicated based on the expected district heating rollout.
• The state's phasing-out plan does not contain a requirement for phasing out.
• KL and Danish Regions present similar plans for phasing out fossil heating from oil and gas boilers in municipal and regional buildings.
