Wind power expansion delayed
Southern federal states are afraid of being left behind
05/12/2023 10:52 am
Bavaria, in particular, is accused of delaying the expansion of wind power and of also defending itself against power lines. In the north, on the other hand, people want to benefit from their own ecological efforts with cheap electricity – the south and west fear serious disadvantages.
The south and south-west German federal states are warning of being left behind in the energy transition. “A weakening of the economically strong countries of the south and west cannot be in the interest of the federal government or the north German states,” says a statement adopted by the prime ministers of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. Above all, they see the danger of being left behind in the development of the future hydrogen supply or by a cheaper electricity price in the north.
“The separation of the price zones would result in further serious negative effects,” warn the six country heads. The background to this are demands in northern Germany to be able to benefit more from the cheaper green electricity produced there, for example through wind power. Electricity prices are sometimes higher in the north than in the south, which is increasingly met with displeasure. One reason for the problems is the sluggish development of high-capacity power lines in the more populous countries to the south and west, where a larger proportion of the previous industrial plants are located. However, green hydrogen is likely to be produced mainly in the north because of the cheap wind power.
The German Wind Energy Association has long complained about a north-south divide in the expansion of wind power. Of the previous expansion and approval volume in 2023, the southern region accounted for only 7.8 percent of the expansion and only 4.5 percent of the approvals. Only one new facility was approved in Baden-Württemberg and only two in Bavaria. On the other hand, there is progress in North Rhine-Westphalia: According to industry information, Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Brandenburg and NRW together accounted for 77 percent of the new construction last year.
South does not want to split up the electricity market
The cross-party appearance of the six heads of state is unusual. “We are working together to expand the hydrogen infrastructure across borders in the south and west,” said Malu Dreyer, Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate. A uniform, reliable and affordable energy supply must be guaranteed throughout Germany, says Baden-Württemberg’s head of state, Winfried Kretschmann. “I therefore speak out very clearly against any division of the electricity market in Germany into different price zones,” he said, similar to Bavaria’s head of state Markus Söder. NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst called for the development of a cross-border European hydrogen infrastructure. “So we have to bring the electricity and the hydrogen to where it is needed.”
The federal states also support a temporary subsidized industrial electricity price, but warn of a “regional or sectoral distortion of competition”. They are also calling on Economics Minister Robert Habeck not to allow the Federal Network Agency to centralize energy policy decisions too much. The existing influence of the federal states on the regulation of the networks via the Federal Council should be retained. The Prime Ministers are also calling for state opening clauses in federal laws to enable the states to open up more areas for renewable energies. All six are committed to an accelerated expansion of renewable energies.