The amendment of the government decree on the energy efficiency characteristics of buildings will finally remove the obstacles from the wider spread of district heating services among new retail, service provider and industrial consumers, Péter Kaderják, Minister of State for Energy Affairs and Climate Policy at the Ministry for Innovation and Technology announced at a press conference held in Budapest on Friday.
Based on the recently adopted amendment, it will boost the wider spread of district heating services provided in an environmentally friendly manner that, together with other renewable technologies, it will enjoy a fair competitive situation in the energy supply of new buildings, he stressed.
The Minister of State said at present natural gas accounts for over 70 per cent of Hungary’s district heat generation and supply; according to the goals of the new national energy strategy which is currently being finalised, they wish to reduce this percentage to below 50 per cent by 2030. This would replace the consumption of some 200 to 250 million cubic metres of natural gas annually with the use of locally available, primarily renewable energy sources such as biomass or environmental thermal energy. The implementation of the plans will reduce Hungary’s energy dependence, will enhance the security of its energy supply, will contribute to the improvement of air quality in settlements, and will create new jobs, Mr Kaderják said.
The Minister of State informed the press that the Ministry for Innovation and Technology had renewed its strategic cooperation agreement with the industry federation Association of Hungarian District Heating Enterprises. In harmony with the government’s energy and climate policy objectives, the agreement primarily seeks to promote the wider market spread of affordable district heat generated in an environmentally friendly manner.
Mr Kaderják mentioned the amendment of the government decree on the energy efficiency characteristics of buildings as one of the results of the cooperation.
He also highlighted that the Ministry for Innovation and Technology supported the Federation’s initiative, and the parties have launched together a programme to enable consumers to control their heat consumption in buildings supplied with district heating and to supply heating systems with smart cost allocation solutions.
Out of the some 650,000 homes connected to district heating services in Hungary, there are approximately 200,000 where the consumption of heat cannot be controlled, the Minister of State pointed out. He added that there is great interest in the relevant call for proposals with a grant allocation of HUF 2 billion, in response to which housing cooperatives and multi-household buildings can submit applications.
Mr Kaderják said it is a further shared aspiration to make it a standard practice in the area of district heating services that the environmental characteristics of the energy which district heat consumers use are made clear and transparent for them.
He said they intend to make the district heat ecolabel a generally used mode of consumer information as is already customary in the case of large household appliances.
At the press conference, Tibor Orbán, President of the Association of Hungarian District Heating Enterprises said district heating service providers can now apply for the district heat ecolabel on a voluntary basis, and it is awarded by the industry federation. At the same time, the ecolabel could be a good means for Hungary to meet its obligation under the European Union’s ‘Clean Energy for All Europeans’ legislative package, he pointed out.
Mr Orbán highlighted the importance of smart cost allocation programmes and the availability of controllable district heating. He said it is especially important that the programme should also continue after the currently available allocation has been used.