Denmark introduces incentive for green heating

The Danish Energy Agency has announced that Denmark‘s gas grid operator, Evida, will not charge homeowners and private citizens for the costs of disconnecting from the gas network if they decide to replace their gas boiler with one powered by renewable energy.

The technology-neutral scheme will be implemented over the period 2021-2026 and the fee exemption will be given on a first-come, first-served basis.

The applicants are also entitled to request additional funds for the installation of a heat pump or leasing of a heating system if they cannot afford the upfront costs for buying one. Furthermore, funds will be awarded if individual oil and gas boilers are converted to district heating.

The use of heat pumps and more flexible heating systems coupled to wind and power generation may be particularly beneficial for countries with serious grid congestion issues, according to a recent report from Dutch electricity transmission system operator (TSO) Tennet. The company's experts analyzed how the use of heat pumps and smarter heat networks may contribute to the creation of more flexible electricity demand, which would, in turn, have the twofold advantage of reducing fossil fuel consumption and not wasting surplus renewable energy generation during peak hours.

Power-to-heat technologies, on the other hand, could also help increase renewables deployment in countries with limited grid capacities and in isolated, coal-based energy systems, according to researchers from Kosovo’s University of Pristina, the Naval Architecture University of Zagreb and Denmark’s Aalborg University.