According to Markus Söder, Bavaria is the front runner when it comes to expanding renewable energies.
But does his calculation work out?
Energy expert Detlef Fischer classifies.
Munich – Markus Söder has long since heralded the election campaign for the Bavarian state elections in October.
Most recently, he snubbed green politics several times and, in an interview with the
Munich
newspaper, also ruled out wanting to form a coalition with the eco-party.
"Black and green will not exist in Bavaria." Instead, the CSU boss is currently trying to stylize himself as a climate saver.
On Tuesday (December 31) Söder wrote on Twitter: "Bavaria is German champion 2022 in the expansion of renewable energies".
When it comes to the expansion of biomass, solar energy and wind on land, the Free State is in first place by a wide margin.
Söder shared a graphic and referred to figures from the Federal Network Agency.
The Ministry of Economics, led by Vice Prime Minister Hubert Aiwanger (free voters), also said: "Bavaria is the frontrunner in the expansion of renewable energies." However, that is only partially true.
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In his tweet, the Prime Minister refers to the absolute figures for the “additional expansion of renewable energies in megawatts”.
The figures are correct per se, but are not set in relation to the number of inhabitants or the area.
As the largest federal state, Bavaria has more potential than Schleswig-Holstein, for example.
It is also the second largest by population.
Solar energy benefits from this, as there are more people who build a photovoltaic system on their homes.
If you put the numbers in relation, Bavaria ends up in the middle of the field, as in 2021, rather than at the top.
If you only look at the 13 non-city states, Bavaria falls to ninth place in terms of installed capacity per square kilometer according to calculations by Bayerischer Rundfunk.
In terms of the expansion of renewables - Söder's argument in his tweet - around a quarter comes from Bavaria, in relation the Free State is sixth.
The Free State is still very strong when it comes to photovoltaics and, according to the Federal Network Agency, was even able to increase its solar radiation energy by 12.1 percent compared to 2021.
In terms of performance per area, only Saarland is ahead of the Free State.
Bavaria is also ahead when it comes to biomass, but the overall output of this energy source is manageable in Germany.
However, Bavaria is last when it comes to the growth figures for onshore wind energy (+1 percent compared to 2021) in relation to the respective state area.
This is shown by figures from the Ministry of Economics (chart 7, page 17).
Bavaria is the German champion in 2022 in the expansion of renewable energies: We are in first place when it comes to expansion. This is shown by the figures from the Federal Network Agency.
Almost a quarter of the nationwide expansion is in #Bavaria.
pic.twitter.com/tvW61itPXS
— Markus Söder (@Markus_Soeder) January 31, 2023
This aspect, which Söder ignored, also emerges from a report by the federal government from December 2022.
It states: “Around 40 percent (23.7 GW) of the photovoltaic capacity installed nationwide was installed in the two southern federal states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg by the end of 2021, while only less than eight percent (4.3 GW) of the nationwide installed capacity there wind turbines were erected.” Instead, 40 percent of the wind comes from Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The north of Germany is windier anyway, but Bavaria is also criticized because it builds the fewest wind turbines in the national comparison.
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Stefan Holzheu from the Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research criticized this in an interview with our editors and said: "I see no ambitions at Söder to change anything."
VBEW boss attests Söder "political slapstick" - and names nuclear power as a necessary alternative
Bavaria shines above all in one category.
"Bavaria is really great when it comes to installing photovoltaic systems," says Detlef Fischer from the Association of Bavarian Energy and Water Management (VBEW) in an interview with
Merkur.de
.
However, the energy expert sees a catch.
Solar is not a winter technology.
“This is primarily summer electricity, which is also mainly generated around midday.
In winter, when we urgently need electricity, it gives us almost nothing at all.”
The expansion of renewable energies cannot be reduced to one key figure.
"This is more or less just political slapstick and has nothing to do with a serious assessment of the status of the energy transition in Bavaria." According to Fischer, solar energy is not the "all-blessing truth", but only a building block of the energy transition.
"The task is more complex than planting photovoltaic systems or wind power in the landscape."
Fischer's alternative proposal: "We will need power plants of all kinds longer than some can imagine." Fischer also explicitly mentions electricity supplies from nuclear power plants abroad.
He personally believes that playing nuclear power and renewable energies against each other in the way that happened in Germany is a big mistake.
"No apartment will be bright and warm from this." Fischer is on course with the position of the CSU.
Söder is also calling for the three reactors to be extended, one of which is also in Bavaria.
The Franconian once countered Scholz' term veto with "technical nonsense".
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