Three days of collaboration, exchange and new perspectives on local heating and cooling planning!

From 5–7 October, our colleagues Jan Steinbach, Catrice Christ and Antonia Kranz participated in the 4th project meeting of the EU-LIFE-project ESCALATE, coordinated by IREES, in Le Bourget-du-Lac, France. Together with our European project partners, we reflected on the progress made so far, discussed upcoming activities and worked on target scenarios and concrete measures for the pilot municipalities.

🤝 A particular highlight was the third day, when we joined forces with the PLANtoACT project. In interactive peer-learning workshops, we exchanged experiences and perspectives on key aspects of local heating and cooling planning, including stakeholder engagement, data availability, political commitment and financing. Bringing together expertise from both projects allowed us to explore common challenges, identify synergies and gain valuable insights for our ongoing work.

🌱 Another highlight was the visit to the Bourget-du-Lac district heating network, powered by a biomass plant. The visit offered an opportunity to see how cooperation between local authorities, energy communities and private actors can contribute to putting sustainable heating solutions into practice.We greatly appreciated the opportunity to connect with colleagues from both projects, share experiences and take away new ideas for our work.

Many thanks to Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Énergie Environnement (AURA-EE) for bringing us together in Le Bourget-du-Lac and to everyone who contributed to these productive and engaging days!