Even if energy prices continue to rise, Bavaria’s energy supply dependencies will continue to exist for a long time. However, the Greens see a lot of potential for rapid changes.
Munich (dpa / lby) – With a five-point emergency program, the Greens want to significantly accelerate the energy transition in Bavaria. “Bavaria has to make a big leap forward with the energy transition in 2023,” said the head of the state parliament, Ludwig Hartmann, of the German Press Agency in Munich. In addition to the construction of 400 wind turbines at state expense in the state’s own forests, the five points also include more subsidies for geothermal energy and the installation of 2000 photovoltaic systems on state roofs each year.
“The state government can implement these measures tomorrow. It’s all about speed now,” emphasized Hartmann. The government around Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) must now not only “thoroughly, but also quickly spoon out the soup that he brought to the Free State by doing nothing in terms of energy policy”. The people in the Free State would lose patience with the “Bavarian announcement world champion”. “Technically, the energy transition has long been solved, but the state government is stonewalling its implementation.”
Specifically, Hartmann criticized the fact that in Bavaria’s state forests not a single new wind turbine had been added to the existing 101 rotors since the first announcement for the wind expansion in 2019. Therefore, the Free State should immediately commission planning offices to implement 400 wind turbines in the next four years. “The goal is ambitious, but doable.” In addition, it is a huge opportunity for a first big wave in wind power expansion in Bavaria. At the same time, everyone in the country would benefit from the proceeds, as these could flow into the climate-proof conversion of the forests.
According to Hartmann, geothermal energy also needs a boost from the government. The funding of ten million euros planned for 2023 in the budget is far too little. “In the first half of 2022, Bavaria transferred over 25 million euros a day for oil and gas to Putin’s Russia, filling the war coffers well,” said Hartmann. In order to advance the expansion, a 100 million euro fund is needed, through which geothermal drilling can be financially secured by municipalities or citizens’ associations. In this way, the financial risk for municipalities and citizens can be minimized and the expansion can be advanced.
Hartmann also expects more speed from solar power: “2,000 new systems on government buildings per year – that’s possible and doesn’t ask too much,” he said. He cannot understand why 1,600 new government buildings have been built since the turn of the millennium, but only 15 percent of the new buildings have a solar system installed. “Where is the Free State with its role model function in the energy transition?”
According to Hartmann, too much potential also remained untapped in Bavaria in the area of ??hydropower and the expansion of local and district heating networks. A state heat plan is needed as a basis for municipal heat plans, as well as more subsidies for the local use of green waste and food leftovers to produce biomethane. “18 percent of Bavaria’s natural gas consumption could be replaced with it,” said Hartmann. Most small and medium-sized municipalities could not yet cope with the high investment costs.
In the case of hydropower, the opportunity that arises from the rescue of the energy giant Uniper must be used: “The Danube, Main, Lech and Isar are Bavaria’s energy veins. Their hydroelectric power plants are part of a central nervous system of energy security that we want to build up,” said Hartmann . To do this, hydropower must be returned to the public sector. The power plants could be operated by municipal energy supply companies, which ultimately would also benefit the citizens financially.
