Peitinger Greens call for solar obligation: "Continuing as before is not a solution"

Created: 10/06/2022, 10:00 am

By: Christopher Peters

In the Peitingen development area on the Hochweg, many builders have installed a photovoltaic system on the roof without a corresponding requirement.

© Hans-Helmut Herold

So far, it has been up to everyone to decide whether to install a solar system on the roof of their building.

In order to push ahead with the expansion in times of the energy and climate crisis, the Peitinger Greens are now calling on the municipal council to make installation compulsory under certain conditions.

Peiting – There is a lot of talk these days about the expansion of renewable energies.

Environmentally friendly alternatives to gas, coal and oil must be promoted much faster than before, all experts have agreed since the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.

But the right way to get there can be argued with, as was shown on Tuesday in the Peitingen municipal council.

The trigger was an application by the Greens, according to which the administration should draw up regulations with which a solar system could be made mandatory in future for new buildings or structural changes to the roof of existing buildings.

The obligation was to be tested for the first time in the new development areas currently being built on Bachfeld and Heimgartenstrasse.

Flaming plea by the Greens parliamentary group spokesman

Massively rising energy prices, dependence on fossil fuels and dramatic climate change would now also require “courageous and goal-oriented local political action”, said parliamentary group spokesman Thomas Elste, explaining the move.

In the past 15 years, despite attractive incentives, only ten percent of the population and industry have made their contribution to regenerative energy production.

Elste complained that that was far too little and decided: "Continuing as before is no solution." The expansion of solar systems on roofs or walls also reduces the need to build over agricultural land, secures the local energy supply and stabilizes in the long term energy prices, Elste put forward a number of other arguments that, from the Greens' point of view, spoke in favor of a solar obligation.

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However, the application was met with great skepticism by the administration.

Such an obligation is in principle possible with new development plans, said managing director Stefan Kort.

In the case of existing buildings, however, he sees the intervention without a legal basis as problematic.

But even in the case of the new development areas, it should be considered whether the municipality should impose such binding regulations on the builders in view of the exploding construction costs and interest rates, Kort pointed out.

He also pointed out that the state government is already working on a draft law that, among other things, provides for a solar obligation for commercial buildings from 2023.

In the Council, the Greens' request has received a lot of criticism

Many councils also thought little of the required regulation.

Michael Deibler (CSU) spoke of a “symbolic political application” penned by Elste.

During the exam, it was agreed not to create any corsets under building law, he recalled.

Hermann Mödl (BVP) also advised against "gagging" builders in this way.

Anyone who has money would install such a system anyway because "electricity prices are galloping away".

Norbert Merk (CSU), who spoke of the "usual green act of paternalism", saw it similarly.

Even Marion Gillinger (ÖDP) thought that the application was going in the wrong direction.

She warned against getting bogged down in small things.

In new development areas, most would already install a PV system anyway.

Susann Tabatabai-Schweizer (Greens) admitted that the effort required for the regulation was high.

"But we have to start somewhere," she appealed.

Anyone who can build a house for "a few 100,000 euros" can also afford to install a solar system - especially since it pays for itself after eight years.

Some people build up an image here as if their faction wanted to build something "from another planet", Elste countered the critics.

Other places have long since shown that it is possible.

But one is open to compromises.

Herbert Salzmann brought one into play.

In future development plans, he could make friends with an obligation for a PV system with an output of up to ten KWp, said the SPD parliamentary group leader, who, like Tabatabai-Schweizer, referred to the comparatively manageable costs in relation to the current prices for a single-family house.

However, this proposal is not up for a vote today, Mayor Peter Ostenrieder (CSU) braked.

In the end, it remained open whether the compromise would have found a majority.

The Greens' motion was defeated by four votes in favour.

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You can find more current news from the region around Schongau at Merkur.de/Schongau.