CDU on climate and energy

The CDU wants to examine Saarland's high energy costs using an international comparison. It then plans to discuss with the energy industry a concept for competitive energy prices at the industrial location.

Electricity is very expensive in Saarland. That is a problem for industry. The CDU wants to compare costs with other countries. Then it wants to talk with energy companies about better prices.

The platform sees electricity costs as a key factor for international competitiveness because industry is increasingly being electrified. It says Germany is among Europe's most expensive locations for energy and Saarland ranks at the top nationwide. The CDU regards this as a risk for the location. The review is to be based on international monitoring.

The CDU backs steel made with climate-neutral hydrogen and calls for public investment support from the federal government and the EU. For a transition period it is also open to hydrogen made from natural gas.

The CDU wants steel that does not harm the climate. This needs hydrogen. The state should support the change with money. For a while, the hydrogen may also come from natural gas.

In the long run the hydrogen is to be produced with renewable electricity; in the short term the CDU accepts blue and turquoise hydrogen as a bridge. Together with North Rhine-Westphalia it wants to press the federal government and the EU for funding for the technological shift. Saarland is to be connected to a European hydrogen network. A future-energy research institute is also planned to study new storage technologies, including capacity, lifespan and recyclability.

The CDU wants a major expansion of renewable energy, power grids and storage, along with faster permitting. Sustainability is to become the central yardstick for state government decisions. During the expansion, dialogue with citizens, municipalities and conservation groups is to be sought.

The CDU wants more power from wind and sun. Power grids and storage should grow too. Permits should come faster. The government should consider sustainability in all decisions.

The platform considers a comprehensive investment program necessary to shift industry toward climate neutrality. More electricity is needed for electric transport and climate-neutral hydrogen, and it has to make up for the end of coal and nuclear power. Planning and permitting of generation plants are to move faster, and grid expansion is to speed up considerably. The CDU sees sustainability as a task for nearly all areas of state policy and points to extreme weather as a consequence of global warming.

The CDU wants a secure and affordable energy supply and intends to examine all methods of energy generation without ruling any out in advance. Alongside wind and solar, geothermal energy and mine gas are to be assessed in feasibility studies because, according to the platform, industry and baseload demand need reliable sources.

The CDU wants power and heat to be safe and affordable. It wants to look at all kinds of energy. It wants a study on heat from the ground. That heat is there day and night. Gas from old mines should also be studied.

The platform notes that dense settlement, industry and extensive forests make renewable generation harder in Saarland. According to the CDU, wind and solar need a lot of land, so fewer and fewer projects get built. Geothermal power, by contrast, is available around the clock. The CDU wants to push for a geothermal feasibility study that takes the state's mining history into account. A second study is to examine whether mine gas can be used to produce hydrogen from methane.

The CDU wants to draft a climate protection law for Saarland and submit it to the state parliament. It is meant to make climate requirements binding in several state regulations because, according to the platform, climate action needs a legal basis at state level.

The CDU wants a climate law for Saarland. The state parliament should vote on it. The law should set firm rules for protecting the climate. These rules would apply to building and to what the state buys, for example.

The platform describes climate protection as a transformation that changes every part of society while also offering opportunities. The law is to anchor ambitious requirements in the state building code, the state planning act and public procurement guidelines. Other state regulations are to be covered as well.

The CDU wants to establish a state energy agency to advise private individuals, municipalities and businesses. The platform sees greater energy efficiency, especially in buildings, as key to climate neutrality.

The CDU wants to start an energy agency for Saarland. The agency gives advice to people, towns and companies. It shows how to save energy. It also explains what funding is available.

The agency is to provide information on measures and strategies for saving energy and using renewables. It is also to advise on the various funding programs. The CDU's aim is for federal funding to be drawn down in Saarland as fully as possible. The focus is on the building sector.

The CDU wants a state "Klima-Bonus-Programm" (climate bonus program) to subsidize environmentally friendly heating systems and solar installations on homes. It is meant to supplement federal funding, raise the renovation rate and, in the platform's words, turn Saarland into a solar state.

The CDU wants to start a state funding program. It is called the climate bonus program. People who install a green heating system get extra money. There is also money for solar panels on the roof. This should get more people to modernize their homes.

For heating systems, the plan is a state grant of 10 percent of the costs recognized under the federal building efficiency program. It comes on top of the KfW and BAFA programs. Owners who have trouble with financing are to get special support. The goal is to double the number of funding applications filed with the federal government. New photovoltaic and solar thermal systems on private homes are to receive between 750 and 2,000 euros depending on size. The CDU points to rising electricity demand from hydrogen, heat pumps and electric cars.

The CDU wants to expand solar energy above all, and wind power where this is possible without conflict and with little environmental impact. Residents are to be informed, involved and given a financial share, and a state-owned company is to generate energy itself on public properties.

The CDU wants more power from the sun. Wind turbines should only go where they cause no trouble. Local people should have a say. They should also get money from the power. The state should make power itself.

The platform calls regionally available green power an important factor in attracting industry and service companies. Local communities are to benefit financially from power generation, including through cooperatives. The forest law provision that allows wind turbines on historic old forest sites in state forests only as an exception is to stay. A new state company is to use public buildings and land for energy purposes. The CDU also wants regulation to promote digital innovation in the energy system, building on the "DesigNetz" research project.