Working together for more climate protection: Münsterland municipalities commit to regional cooperation
More than 150 participants at the "Münsterland Heat Congress" in Heek
The municipalities in Münsterland are united in their desire to actively shape the heating transition together. The first "Münsterland Heat Congress", which took place on Thursday (3 April) at the maakwi campus in Heek, focused on topics relating to the use of renewable energies and increasing energy efficiency. More than 150 experts from local authorities and companies discussed measures and learnt about successful practical examples from the region. The event was organised by the "Münsterland ist Klimaland" initiative, coordinated by Münsterland e.V. and the state association Energy4Climate, and the NRW Renewable Energy Association (LEE NRW).
Andreas Grotendorst, Chairman of Münsterland e.V.: "We can only be strong together on the path to a climate-neutral heat supply - Münsterland is already working together across district and local boundaries, pooling its innovative strength. The 'Heat Congress' provided everything we needed to get into dialogue with each other and possibly transfer projects to our own municipality." In May 2024, the Münsterland district councillors, District President Andreas Bothe and more than 60 mayors put their goal of continuing and expanding municipal activities for climate protection on paper with the communiqué "Münsterland is climate country - we're in!".
The state company NRW.Energy4Climate is an important point of contact with its competence centre for the heating transition. "More and more cities and municipalities are finalising their heating plans and starting to implement them. Local authorities and energy suppliers often face similar challenges and can make life a lot easier for themselves by 'copying' each other. With the 'Heat Congress', the Münsterland offers an ideal format for this," said Carsten Petersdorff, Head of Heat and Buildings at NRW.Energy4Climate.
Dr Thomas Griese, Deputy Chairman of LEE NRW, emphasised: "The heating transition is feasible - with the right strategies, technologies and good cooperation. The success stories from the Münsterland region should be an incentive for other regions to actively shape this indispensable change."
In December, the state government passed the NRW State Heat Planning Act, which obliges all cities and municipalities to develop their own heat plans by 2028 at the latest. Luuk Masselink from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy (MWIKE) said: "The law creates the framework, but success lies in the practical implementation on the ground. The 'Münsterland Heat Congress' showed that the local authorities have a great deal of interest and commitment - the close cooperation between the local authorities and the Competence Centre for the Heat Transition will help to turn this momentum into good projects."
In a good practice pitch, the participants learnt about the topics currently being worked on by the cities of Ahaus, Lüdinghausen, Münster, Greven and Warendorf in the context of the heating transition. Dr Roman Turczynski from the Münster district government presented the hydrogen position paper for the administrative district, ranging from an information brochure and the involvement of tradespeople to geothermal, bio and river heat as potential heat sources.
The expert audience then discussed topics such as the development of heat sources, the economic viability of heating networks, communication and the stabilisation of municipal heating planning in four workshops.
The "Münsterland Heat Transition Workshop" is currently being created as a platform to support local authorities with heat planning. In addition to a constructive dialogue, solutions for concrete implementation are presented.
More about "Münsterland is climate country"
The heating congress was part of the "Münsterland ist Klimaland" initiative, which is an association of districts and municipalities in Münsterland and has been coordinated by Münsterland e.V. since 2016. The Münsterland districts of Borken, Coesfeld, Steinfurt and Warendorf and the city of Münster have been involved since the start. Another strong partner is the state organisation for energy and climate protection, NRW.Energy4Climate, which is also represented in Münsterland with two NRW.climate networks. The campaign of the same name, initiated by the state organisation, has been in existence since 2021, under the patronage of District President Andreas Bothe, and 65 municipalities from the Münsterland region have officially signed up to it. The "Münsterland ist Klimaland" initiative is a joint commitment to greater climate protection in the region. It supports local authorities in sensitising citizens and encouraging them to act sustainably with the help of a campaign, communication materials and events.
