The aim is to achieve a high level of energy self-sufficiency and near-zero emissions through the implementation of district heating and cooling networks
28 March 2025
Staff from Pamplona City Council — including representatives from the Urban Planning Department, the Strategic Government Area and the Projects Area — together with NASUVINSA, the public housing and urban development company of the Government of Navarra, travelled to Donostia–San Sebastián on Thursday to learn first-hand about the District Heating project in the Txomin Enea neighbourhood. The visit was organised in collaboration with Fomento San Sebastián, the Integrated Actions Unit of San Sebastián City Council and the company responsible for managing the infrastructure.
The purpose of the visit was to exchange knowledge and experiences that may support Pamplona City Council in integrating this type of infrastructure into urban planning processes. The District Heating system is a sustainable heating and domestic hot water solution that generates heat for the entire neighbourhood and distributes it through a network of hot-water pipes, ensuring that all buildings have access to heating and domestic hot water (DHW) at every consumption point.The thermal generation system consists of two biomass boilers complemented by two gas boilers used during peak demand periods. Emission reductions are ensured through a dual filtration system.
This visit forms part of the training activities being organised by Pamplona City Council for its staff, aimed at strengthening the integration of sustainability into public policies. The PLAN4CET Project supports the implementation of Pamplona’s Energy Transition and Climate Change Strategy 2030 (ETEyCC). Among other actions, the strategy includes the development of an Internal Training Plan addressed to both political representatives and municipal staff directly involved in climate action and urban transformation, with the goal of achieving adaptation and mitigation targets. Pilot actions of this plan have been carried out between 2024 and 2025, with its formal presentation and full implementation planned for this year.
To ensure effective training, priority climate-related topics have been identified for each municipal function and department, alongside transversal themes common to all municipal staff. This work is being developed in coordination with the Strategic Environmental Education Plan, currently under preparation.
High energy-efficiency systems
Pamplona’s Energy Transition and Climate Change Strategy 2030 (ETE-CC) includes among its objectives Strategic Objective 1: rehabilitating and renaturalising the urban environment, within which the strategic line “Actions in buildings” promotes the installation of high energy-efficiency systems, including individual, centralised and district-scale heating and cooling solutions.
District energy systems aim to foster energy districts across Pamplona’s neighbourhoods, enabling a high level of energy self-sufficiency and near-zero emissions through district heating and cooling networks integrating renewable energy sources.
The strategy’s energy and emissions assessment identified that the city’s energy model still relies largely on fossil fuels for transport and heating. Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources such as biomass for heating, together with the higher efficiency of district heating networks, represents a key tool for decarbonising the energy model.
Furthermore, as biomass is a locally sourced energy resource compared to fossil fuels, the deployment of such systems helps reduce Pamplona’s vulnerability and dependence on external energy sources.
The technical visit and the future implementation of district heating networks are aligned with emission reduction targets, improved energy efficiency and the promotion of renewable energy use.