Denmark’s plan to end natural gas heating by 2035 has stalled in dozens of municipalities, with Holbæk now seeking to delay its district heating project to May 2027 after only about one in ten residents signed up.
As DR reports, apartments owned by Holbæk Boligselskab are being heated with natural gas again this autumn. A broad political majority in the Folketing decided in 2022 that natural gas should no longer heat Danish homes after 2035.
Only slightly more than one in ten residents in Holbæk agreed to join the municipality’s district heating project earlier in 2026. The municipality now wants to push the project to May 2027, hoping to reach the required 70 percent support. Holbæk is far from alone, according to DR’s reporting.
Sixty municipalities expect no new projects this year
A new report from Kommunernes Landsforening, the association of Danish municipalities, found that 60 municipalities expect neither to process nor approve new district heating projects replacing gas in 2026. Lone Loklindt, deputy mayor of Frederiksberg and KL’s political lead on energy and supply, called the situation very serious, noting the agreement to phase out all gas for heating before 2035.
According to KL, fewer than 260,000 private gas customers remained in Denmark at the beginning of 2026. The same report states that municipalities expected to approve only 12 district heating projects in 2026, converting 2,312 gas boilers.
In Holbæk, the vote came down to cost. Uffe Frejdal Nielsen, deputy chair of Holbæk Boligselskab, told DR that connecting the housing association’s system would require an investment of about DKK 30 million, and that some residents would be unable to pay and would have to move.
Why the resistance is growing now
Brian Vad Mathiesen, professor of energy planning at Aalborg University, said several troubled district heating projects have affected Danish homeowners. He pointed to the project in Odsherred, where residents were suddenly facing large bills, and said trust must be rebuilt in city councils and utility companies.
Charlotte Nielsen (S), deputy chair of Holbæk’s climate and environment committee, said funding earmarked for housing associations would help the municipality move forward. The government proposed on Friday setting aside an additional DKK 200 million in the finance bill for district heating expansion. Loklindt said the proposal does not change the fact that the 2035 target will not be met under current conditions.
DR tried to interview climate, energy and supply minister Samira Nawa (RV) but did not succeed. The ministry referred to an interview in mid September, where she said the government will look next year at what more can be done, and pointed to an existing immediate-funding pool, a strakspulje, that households can apply to.
What the stalled gas phase-out means for international residents
Heating in Denmark is organized locally. Municipalities decide where fjernvarme, district heating, is rolled out, and projects often need a minimum share of households to commit before they go ahead. In Holbæk that threshold is 70 percent, which is why a low sign-up rate stopped the project. Renters in almennyttige boligselskaber, social housing associations, do not decide individually. The association votes, and the heating source stays as it is if the vote fails.
The practical consequence reported by DR is that residents in affected areas keep paying for gas heating this winter, at a time when gas prices have risen markedly since 2025. Nielsen said the only option for now is to save on heating and pay the bill. Whether further state support arrives is not yet decided, beyond the DKK 200 million in the government’s finance bill proposal and the existing strakspulje the ministry referred to.
