FDP on climate and energy

The FDP wants to build up and promote the state's west coast as a location for technology, production, and research around renewable energy. It sees renewable energy generation as a growth driver because companies increasingly choose their locations on that basis.

The FDP wants to strengthen the west coast of the state. A lot of wind power is made there. Hydrogen should also be made there in large amounts. The FDP hopes this will bring new companies to the region.

The region is to become a showcase for the industrial production of hydrogen and other chemical energy carriers from renewable power. It is also to be a research location for new energy technologies. The program links this to an expectation of markedly stronger growth in the state. Alongside tourism and agriculture, the energy industry is meant to attract new businesses to the west coast.

The FDP does not want energy requirements for residential buildings to be raised further and wants existing rules reviewed. It rejects mandatory photovoltaic systems on residential buildings. According to the platform, small energy savings come at high additional cost.

The FDP does not want stricter energy rules for homes. It also wants to review today's rules. Nobody should be forced to put solar panels on the roof. The FDP says strict rules make building too expensive.

The platform also opposes stricter requirements set by individual municipalities and calls for a critical evaluation of current standards. In the FDP's view, climate policy only wins lasting support if it makes economic sense. Instead of a solar mandate, the party relies on less red tape when systems are put into operation and on information so that more profitable systems are installed. In the same context, it wants to lift the ban on burning garden cuttings on one's own property, provided there is no heightened fire risk.

The FDP commits to the Paris climate targets and wants to reach them through innovation, competition and openness to all technologies rather than bans. Public administration is to lead the way before obligations are placed on citizens and businesses.

The FDP wants to protect the climate. It wants to use new technology for this and no bans. The state should act first. Only then should citizens and companies get duties. Climate protection should stay affordable for people.

The state's buildings and vehicle fleet, and later those of municipalities, are to become climate-neutral or emission-free, for example with hydrogen, synthetic fuels or electric vehicles. Instead of local climate emergency declarations, the FDP wants statewide rules and a best-practice model. Plans include a center for energy transition research, an investment fund for charging stations and for hydrogen and synthetic fuel stations, and research on green gases and e-fuels. The FDP supports pilot projects in climate engineering, meaning methods that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. For deep geothermal energy, it plans a feasibility study and a real-world lab.

The FDP wants energy policy to be guided more by security concerns and aims for Germany and Europe to supply their own energy. To that end, the liquefied natural gas terminal in Brunsbüttel is to be built quickly, and energy affordability is to get more weight.

The FDP wants a secure supply of energy. Germany and Europe should be able to supply themselves. A terminal for liquid gas should be built quickly in Brunsbüttel. Energy should stay affordable.

Security of supply, affordability and conservation of resources are to be brought into balance. According to the program, an affordable and secure supply is crucial for society and for the competitiveness of the economy. The FDP is open to environmentally compatible oil production off the Dithmarschen coast and to approving additional known reserves. Jobs and know-how in the state's energy sector are to be preserved.

The FDP wants to cut the electricity tax to the EU minimum, exempt energy storage from levies and surcharges, and make grid fees uniform nationwide. Grid expansion is to keep pace with the expansion of renewable energy.

The FDP wants to cut the tax on electricity sharply. Energy storage should no longer pay levies. Power grids should grow together with wind and solar energy. Grid costs should be shared equally across Germany.

Storage is to be legally defined as its own pillar of the energy system alongside producers, grids and consumers, and large-scale storage is to get priority. Existing grids are to be secured and expanded as needed, with reinforcement taking precedence over new lines and routes. Energy law is to be freed of red tape, and planning and permitting procedures streamlined and digitized, with appropriate public participation retained. Sector coupling, meaning the linking of electricity, heat and transport, is to move faster. The FDP says it will continue to expand wind energy with a sense of proportion.

The FDP wants to expand wind power so that the targets of the state's existing energy transition and climate protection law are met. Replacing old turbines with more powerful ones should become easier, including outside designated priority areas. Distance rules for homes would stay in place, and the party rejects turbines in forests.

The FDP wants more electricity from wind. Old wind turbines should be easier to replace with new, stronger ones. This is called repowering. The distance to homes should stay the same. There should be no wind turbines in forests.

The FDP argues that technical progress and repowering allow more energy to be produced with fewer turbines. Repowering is to become more flexible and be allowed outside priority areas, in order to secure accepted sites such as the polders on the North Sea coast. Existing distance rules for residential buildings would remain, and the technical noise regulation ("TA-Lärm") would be updated so that all frequency ranges are covered. The party wants to prevent wind turbines in forests and any clearing of forest for them. Permitting procedures are to become leaner, faster and legally secure. The FDP also backs a significant increase in offshore wind capacity.

The FDP rejects a solar panel mandate for residential buildings and wants to leave the decision to owners. Instead, simpler rules on taxation, billing and registration are meant to create incentives. Municipalities would continue to decide on ground-mounted solar sites.

The FDP does not want a rule that forces solar panels onto homes. Owners should decide for themselves. Taxes and registration should become simpler. People who use their own solar power should pay fewer charges.

The platform sees ground-mounted solar, including installations combined with farming, and rooftop solar as important parts of the energy transition. Planning authority for ground-mounted solar sites is to remain with the municipalities. At the same time, all stakeholders should assess whether the energy benefits of such installations outweigh the loss of farmland. For rooftop systems the FDP relies on voluntary action and wants to fundamentally simplify tax treatment, billing and the registration process. Self-consumed power would be exempt from the EEG surcharge (the renewable energy levy).

The FDP wants a review of whether nuclear plants still running and those shut down recently can operate longer, in order to secure the energy supply and avoid dependencies. It also wants to give more support to nuclear fusion. Interim storage sites at the plants must not become permanent repositories.

The FDP wants to check whether nuclear power plants can run longer. This includes plants that were shut down only recently. The goal is enough energy for Germany. The party also wants to support nuclear fusion. That is a new way of producing energy.

The review of longer operating lives should take place soon and on a sound technical basis; in the FDP's view the issue must not be an ideological taboo. The party wants to handle the dismantling of the Brunsbüttel, Krümmel and Brokdorf plants responsibly, including the disposal of waste. The search for a repository for high-level radioactive waste should not stall. In parallel, research should explore ways of converting existing nuclear waste into elements that remain radioactive for a much shorter time. The FDP sees nuclear fusion as a constant, weather-independent energy source for the future.

The FDP wants to speed up the development of the hydrogen economy and make hydrogen a pillar of the energy system. This includes implementing the state strategy, integrated grid planning and a European Hydrogen Union. Methanol is also to receive much stronger support as an energy carrier.

The FDP wants to use hydrogen sooner. Hydrogen is a gas that can store energy. Old natural gas pipelines should be able to carry hydrogen. The party also wants more support for methanol. Methanol is a liquid that holds a lot of energy.

For hydrogen, the FDP considers a technology-neutral energy transition, emissions trading with a CO2 cap and a reform of energy law to be necessary. The state's hydrogen strategy is to be implemented consistently. Clear and simple rules should govern the conversion of natural gas pipelines to hydrogen pipelines, and electricity, gas and hydrogen grids should be planned together over the long term. The party also advocates founding a European Hydrogen Union. Methanol is to be promoted in cooperation with the ChemCoastPark Brunsbüttel, operators of wind, solar and biogas plants, farmers, hydrogen producers and universities.

The FDP wants climate protection to take priority in the case of listed historic buildings. The state's heritage protection law would be amended so that owners may install solar panels and carry out energy-efficiency conversions.

Some old buildings are protected as monuments. Changes to them are often difficult. The FDP wants to allow solar panels on these buildings. The owners should decide for themselves. Changes that save energy should also be possible.

The FDP recognizes heritage protection as an important tool for saving buildings worth preserving from demolition or destruction. In its view, however, energy-efficiency renovation and renewable energy should take priority. Installing solar panels, for example, would be written into the heritage protection law, with the owner deciding whether to use suitable surfaces. The law would also permit conversions that improve energy efficiency.