Dijon's balanced approach to a full heat detox

Dijon Métropole, France

With a well spread-out district heating network, a good supply of renewable heat sources, and a thoughtful approach, Dijon is on its way to a successful full-city heat detox.

heating and cooling

Mitigation

Mission City

Despite being best known for its gastronomy, wine and culture, Dijon is also dynamic and proactive when it comes to climate action. After being a finalist for the Green Capital Award in 2022, Dijon is now involved in a new initiative: it aims to be a part of the cities achieving climate-neutrality by 2030.

District heating as a powerful base for the detox

Dijon is taking advantage of its dense district heating network to complete a full heat detox. As more than two thirds of the city’s buildings are already connected to district heating, there is great potential to increase renewable energies and phase out fossil fuels. To increase the impact of this clean district heating network, the city is aiming to expand its reach, and it plans to have 80% of the buildings connected soon.

Creating a greener mix of heat sources

In an effort to reduce emissions and protect citizens, Dijon is already reaching 75% of renewable energies supplying its district heating. By using waste heat and biomass, the city shrank the percentage of gas used to roughly 25%. It is now producing and buying green gas to reach 82% of green energies by 2026 and a fully decarbonised heating sector by 2030.

Ambition and caution: a balanced approach

Despite its ambitious goals, Dijon tries to remain realistic and strives to make careful investments when it comes to the future of heating in the city. The priority is to always assure that citizens are getting better heat without bearing the costs of the transition in their energy bills.

Main challenges to detoxify heat:

Investing now for future results
Managing the financing of the project in such a way that doesn’t interfere with consumer’s energy bills
The attrition problem – due to a reduced heat demand, securing investments becomes harder

Next steps:

Reach 82% of renewable sources in the district heating system by 2026
Buy green gas
Build a new biomass unit

Where they are in the heat strategy: