Stuttgart (dpa/lsw) – Because of the energy crisis, the CDU parliamentary group is pushing for a rapid expansion of renewable energies for heat supply. In a paper that the parliamentary group decided on Thursday at their meeting in Freudenstadt, the Union calls for a stronger focus on biomass and deep geothermal energy. It says, among other things: “The use of biogas as a district heating supplier or as an enriched gas that can be used directly in combined heat and power plants should be expanded, promoted and reduced in bureaucracy.” Above all, compost should also be converted into energy.
The CDU is also urging that more fast-growing wood should be cultivated in order to increase the supply of biomass. In this context, the Union opposes stopping the promotion of pellet heating systems. Recently there have been debates at federal and EU level as to whether the pellets pressed from wood residues can actually be classified as environmentally friendly and climate-neutral. According to the CDU, biomass is the largest supplier of renewable energies in the southwest in terms of kilowatt hours – twice as much as wind power.
The CDU also wants to exploit the previously unused potential of deep geothermal energy in the state. “In addition to the low land consumption, the energy supply through geothermal energy is independent of weather conditions and is available all year round,” argues the Union. This technology hit the headlines in 2007 because of the damage caused by drilling in Staufen near Freiburg in southern Baden. The Union wants to counteract the skepticism of the population and calls for an examination “whether the country can assume default guarantees for drilling in order to reduce fears”.
