SPD on climate and energy

The SPD wants renewable power generated in the state to reach households and businesses in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern at low prices. At the same time, the energy sector is supposed to grow, including through a local hydrogen economy.

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern makes a lot of power from wind and sun. The SPD wants people in the state to get this power cheaply. Companies should benefit too. The energy industry in the state should also keep growing.

The platform names secure and affordable energy as a way to ease the burden on residents and businesses. The energy sector is to be complemented by a local hydrogen economy and by new companies in electrical engineering and IT. In the long run, the SPD envisions the state as one of the most important locations for climate-neutral energy in the Baltic Sea region, with suppliers settling there as well. To get there, suitable sites are to be developed, local value creation strengthened and industrial jobs secured.

The SPD wants to keep expanding wind, solar, bio and geothermal energy while relying on clear rules. Residents and municipalities near wind turbines and solar parks are to benefit financially, and this participation is to grow further through energy cooperatives. The program treats energy policy as both climate and industrial policy.

The SPD wants more power from wind and sun. Bioenergy and heat from the ground should grow too. People living near wind turbines or solar parks should get money from them. Towns should get money too. Wind turbines must be 1,000 meters from villages.

The state's Klimaverträglichkeitsgesetz (climate compatibility act) is to provide the framework for climate protection and planning certainty for the energy sector. The SPD points to streamlined permitting for wind power and the uniform statewide minimum distance of 1,000 meters from settlements. Under the expanded citizen and municipality participation act, financial participation near wind turbines and solar parks is mandatory. Cooperatives and other forms of collaboration are to broaden this participation. For private households, the program cites support for balcony solar units.

The SPD wants to make the energy system more flexible and link electricity, heating and mobility more closely to keep energy costs in check. Alongside electricity, biogas, hydrogen and geothermal energy are to be part of the energy mix. Municipal utilities are to play the central role in local heat planning and be secured for the long term.

Power, heat and transport should work together better. This should make energy cheaper. Biogas, hydrogen and heat from the ground should be used too. Towns plan their own heating. Local public utilities should play a big part.

The statewide geothermal concept is to serve as the strategic basis for heat planning. Biogas is to be expanded for municipal heating, and the SPD wants to push at the federal level for easier grid access for these plants. A mix of different renewable sources is meant to make the state a leader in heating as well. Energy villages are to be strengthened for security of supply, regional value creation and social participation. The SPD wants to preserve municipal utilities, especially in rural areas, and support them in adapting for the future.

The SPD wants to build a green hydrogen economy in the state together with the federal government and the EU. Surplus wind and solar power is to be converted into hydrogen, creating jobs and value in industry. Pipelines, distribution grids and import capacity through the ports are to be developed for this.

Wind and solar power can be turned into hydrogen. Hydrogen is a gas that stores energy. The SPD wants to create new jobs with it. New pipelines should be built for this. Hydrogen should also come in through the ports.

The funded large-scale IPCEI projects, worth more than half a billion euros, are to be carried out with industry in the next legislative term. The Rostock–Güstrow pipeline is to be built and then extended via the Kraak storage site to Hamburg. At the federal level, the SPD wants to push for the second expansion stage, in which local distribution grids are created. The ports are to be prepared for agreed imports from countries such as Norway and Brazil. The SPD is urging the federal government to conclude further agreements, especially where deliveries can run through the state's ports.

The SPD names security of supply and resilience of energy infrastructure as its top priority. It wants to push grid expansion and speed up the construction and permitting of storage. Existing facilities such as liquefied natural gas terminals are to be integrated into the overall system.

The energy supply should be secure. The SPD wants to build more power lines for this. Energy storage should also be built faster. The terminals for liquid gas should stay part of the system.

The program justifies this precaution with the consequences of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine since 2022. In the SPD's view, security of supply also means enough reserves and storage in the grid. Besides batteries, this covers thermal and biochemical storage. Battery storage is to be built in a way that serves the system and the grid. LNG terminals are to be made fit for the future and embedded so that they serve the system.

The SPD wants to keep expanding renewable energy and use it to attract businesses. The program argues this makes the state less dependent on fossil fuels and creates economic opportunities.

The SPD wants more power from wind and sun. Companies should be able to get this power straight from the producer. There should be more charging stations for electric cars. The state should depend less on oil and gas.

Money from the joint federal-state GRW program for regional economic development would in the future also pay for converting existing business parks into sustainable ones. At the federal level, the SPD backs simpler rules for energy sharing, meaning the joint use of self-generated power. Direct lines between producers and companies are to become easier to set up and lower grid costs. Together with business, the party wants many more public charging points. Data centers should draw their power from renewable sources in the state where possible, and the SPD will look into using their waste heat for nearby housing.

The SPD wants to change energy market rules so that Mecklenburg-Vorpommern stays competitive with neighboring regions. It rejects new surcharges that would make electricity more expensive for households.

The SPD wants power to stay affordable. It does not want new extra charges on the power price. The rules for the power market should change. Power made in the state should also be used in the state.

Together with other northern and eastern states, the SPD wants to push for different market regulation; the program points to the Danish bidding zones as a comparison. Splitting Germany's single electricity bidding zone remains a possibility for the party. At the federal level it wants power that cannot be transported because of grid bottlenecks to benefit local households and businesses. The program notes that grid fees in the state have already fallen sharply.

The SPD wants to support municipalities with heat planning, sustainable construction and renovation, and the expansion of renewable energy. Geothermal energy is to become easier to use, and climate adaptation measures are to receive lasting support.

Towns have many tasks in energy and climate. The SPD wants to help them. For example with planning how homes get heat. Heat from the ground should be easier to use. Towns should be better protected from extreme weather.

For geothermal energy, the platform names clear site information and a secure legal basis. The SPD sees municipal energy infrastructure as a strategic task that brings together supply security, climate protection and economic development. According to the platform, local climate adaptation ranges from building energy to regional protection plans against extreme weather and is to be supported over the long term.

The SPD wants to continue protecting and rewetting peatlands in order to retain water in the landscape, preserve soils and cut greenhouse gases. Farmers are to receive support and should also be able to earn income from solar power on peatland.

Peatlands should become wet again. Wet peatlands hold water and protect the climate. Farmers get help from the state for this. They should also be allowed to make solar power on peatlands.

According to the program, the state has 161,000 hectares of peatland, of which 35,500 hectares have been rewetted. Support goes to peat-preserving water levels and to paludiculture, meaning crops grown on wet peat soils. The technology for regulating water levels is to be in place. The SPD wants to support the peatland professorship in Greifswald, co-fund the training program for peatland specialists and develop the Greifswald Mire Centre into a center of excellence for research and advice. Water and soil associations will continue to get help, including with damage caused by beavers.