Act on the Promotion of Renewable Energies in the Heat Sector (Heat Act, EEWärmeG)

The new Renewable Energies Heat Act entered into force on 1 January 2009. It stipulates that owners of new buildings must cover part of their heat supply with renewable energies. This applies to residential and non-residential buildings for which a building application or construction notification was submitted after 1 January 2009.

The owner is free to choose which source of renewable energies is used. A certain technology-specific percentage of heat, dependent on the type of energy employed, has to be used. A list of FAQ can be found here (only available in German language).

The Heat Act has been amended. The amendments arose from the "Act Implementing European Renewable Energies Legislation" (implementing Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources) and came into force on May 1st 2011.

The obligation to use a share of renewable heat or cold, so far only applied to new buildings, is now extended to existing public buildings undergoing major renovations. The public sector has to fulfill an exemplary role in using renewable energy sources for heat and cold. This applies to public buildings being the property or in the possession of the public sector, and being used for legislative or executive purposes, for purposes of the administration of justice or as a public facility. The exemplary role has to be ensured as well where buildings are rented or leased.

The law was drawn up with the objective that every owner of a building should be able to find an individually tailored, cost-effective solution. Accompanying the legal obligation for new buildings, the German government continues its comprehensive support programme, the market incentive programme for renewable energies in the heat market (solar, biomass, geothermal installations), to supplement the Act. It assists building owners of existing buildings in getting a start on heat or cold from renewable energies, providing either capital grants for smaller installations or low-interest loans and redemption grants for larger installations or infrastructures like heat networks or large heat storages.