03.07.2026
Municipal heat planning adopted: The state capital Saarbrücken lays the foundation for the heat transition
The city council of the state capital Saarbrücken approved the municipal heat planning in its meeting on June 23, 2026. With this, the state capital complies with the legal requirement on time and creates an important foundation for a future-proof, affordable, and climate-friendly heat supply.
“Municipal heat planning is an important task for the coming years and decades. It offers Saarbrücken the opportunity to combine climate protection, security of supply, and economic development. A prerequisite for its success is solid financing of the necessary infrastructure measures through adequate funding frameworks from the federal and state governments, as well as acceptance among citizens. Our goal is to shape the ecologically driven change with social responsibility and economic reason equally,” says Mayor Uwe Conradt.
Twelve months of intensive planning work
The municipal heat planning was primarily developed by the Office for Climate and Environmental Protection in collaboration with the specialist offices Rödl and Greenventory. Within just under twelve months, a strategic roadmap for the heat transition in Saarbrücken was created with the involvement of numerous stakeholders – including municipal departments, subsidiaries and municipal enterprises, energy suppliers, as well as other professional institutions. Citizens were also informed and involved throughout the entire process.
"With the municipal heat planning, we create orientation for the future of heat supply in Saarbrücken. It shows which potentials we can utilize locally to make our city step by step more independent from fossil energy sources while simultaneously achieving climate protection goals. This lays the foundation today for the heat supply of tomorrow," says Mayor Barbara Meyer.
Analysis shows need for action and opportunities
The inventory analysis makes it clear that the annual heat demand in Saarbrücken currently amounts to 1,835 gigawatt hours. A large part of this is still covered by fossil energy sources. At the same time, the heat sector causes the largest share of municipal greenhouse gas emissions, with around 457,000 tons of CO₂ per year.
Heat planning shows that Saarbrücken has significant potential for climate-neutral heat supply. This includes, in particular, solar energy on roofs and open spaces, the use of environmental heat from the Saar River through river heat pumps, as well as energy savings through the energy-efficient renovation of buildings. Since around 83 percent of Saarbrücken’s buildings were constructed before 1979, energy modernization offers enormous opportunities to reduce energy consumption.
Strategic guidelines for the future
For future heat supply, the planning recommends a further expansion of district heating in the city center and in densely built-up neighborhoods. Possible heat sources include river heat, solar thermal energy, waste heat, and large heat pumps. In less densely populated areas, decentralized solutions such as heat pumps combined with photovoltaics are seen as suitable alternatives.
Municipal heat planning is a strategic technical planning and is not legally binding. It serves as a guideline for future decisions and investments. The plan will be updated every five years in the future.
Mayor Barbara Meyer emphasizes the importance of reliable framework conditions for the implementation of the heat transition: „The municipal heat planning shows what is technically possible and sensible in the long term. The real challenge now lies in the implementation. For the heat transition to succeed locally, municipalities need reliable and long-term financial support from the federal and state governments.“
Further information
The concept of municipal heat planning and further information can be found at: https://www.saarbruecken.de/waermeplanung
