Yesterday, the Committee for Own Enterprises, Environment and Safety approved the draft of the municipal heating plan by a clear majority and authorised it for publication. The draft was already on the agenda in December, but the committee members still needed to make changes. As a result, a planned information event for citizens was initially cancelled.
The proposals submitted were discussed jointly on 8 January 2026 - with the involvement of inetz GmbH and GEF Ingenieur AG. As a result, in addition to suitable areas for district and local heating and areas for decentralised solutions, test areas with an open decision on the energy source will also be designated. The aim is to analyse whether heating networks can be expanded in certain areas or whether green hydrogen could play a role elsewhere in the future. In the third category of test areas, only decentralised solutions such as heat pumps as a key element of the heating transition and biomass heating systems will be considered.
The draft of the municipal heating plan will be on public display from Thursday, 22 January, so that interested citizens, associations and institutions can view it and submit their comments. The documents can be downloaded from this day at the following link: https://mitdenken.sachsen.de/-S4LRngqq. The documents will also be available for public inspection from 22 January to 22 February 2026 inclusive at the Technical City Hall, Friedensplatz 1, 09111 Chemnitz, in the exhibition room 014 (to the right of the city shop window) at the following times: Mondays to Wednesdays from 8.30 am to 3 pm, Thursdays from 8.30 am to 6 pm and Fridays from 8.30 am to 12 pm.
Suggestions, proposals or objections to the draft municipal heating plan for the City of Chemnitz can be sent by post to the City of Chemnitz, Environmental Agency, 09106 Chemnitz or by email to umweltamt(at)stadt-chemnitz.de by 22 February 2026.
The final plan will be finalised after evaluation and consideration of all objections and suggestions received by the deadline and submitted to the City Council for a decision.
Second information event
On Thursday, 29 January, from 4 to 6.30 p.m., the City of Chemnitz Environmental Agency invites you to the second information event on municipal heat planning at the Berufliches Schulzentrum für Wirtschaft I, Lutherstraße 2. The event is aimed at the general public.
During the event, the new task of municipal heat planning and the current status of categorisation into suitability and test areas will be presented. Before the presentations begin, there will be an opportunity to ask questions to the experts present at various themed tables.
The official part of the lecture with a presentation of the current status by the commissioned planners begins at 4.30 pm. Following the presentations, there will be an opportunity to address questions to a panel of experts.
Participation is free of charge. Registration is required at https://mitdenken.sachsen.de/-S4LRngqq. The number of participants is limited to 100 people.
The aim of the information event is to involve citizens and all other stakeholders in order to take up and consider their demands, suggestions and comments. The Environmental Agency has already received a statement from the Chemnitz Climate Alliance. Parallel to the presentation of the municipal heating plan, a guide for building owners on how to proceed when replacing heating systems is being developed.
Background
Municipalities with a population of 100,000 or more are legally obliged to complete their heating plans by 30 June 2026 and then revise them every five years. The kick-off for Chemnitz's heat planning took place on 20 June 2024. As an informal plan, the heat plan is divided into suitability and test areas for future heat supply solutions. In the latter, a decision must be made by mid-2028 as to which energy sources and technologies will actually be available.
The Chemnitz heating plan will provide the city administration itself and building owners with guidance on how the climate protection goal of a climate-neutral heat supply by 2045 can be realised. There is no obligation to connect to and use heating networks. The heating plan is therefore also an important tool for sustainable urban development.
The informal municipal heating plan has no direct impact on the installation of new heating systems or the replacement of existing ones. This is where the new Federal Building Energy Act comes into play, which stipulates the obligation to integrate 65 per cent renewable energy in heating systems in new buildings from January 2024 and in existing buildings from mid-2026. In addition, concrete measures are to be developed as part of the heat planning process to supply the city with climate-neutral heat. This will also have a positive impact on achieving the climate neutrality target for 2040 set by the city council.
www.chemnitz.de/waermeplanung
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