SPD on climate and energy

The SPD wants to push for the Industriestrompreis (a subsidized electricity price for industry) to cover all energy-intensive companies. In its view, competitive power prices are needed so that sectors such as chemicals, pharma and automaking can survive in the state.

Some companies need a great deal of electricity. The SPD wants power to be cheaper for them. There is a special industry power price for this. It should apply to more companies. This should keep jobs safe.

The platform calls the lower electricity tax for companies a right step to secure jobs and investment. Beyond that, the reduced power price is to be extended to further sectors, with glass, steel and metal named as examples. The SPD regards a secure, affordable and renewable energy supply as the basis of prosperity.

The SPD wants to keep expanding renewable energy and speed up permits for new plants. It also wants to secure a supply of climate-neutral hydrogen for industry and transport.

The SPD wants more power from wind and sun. New plants should get permits faster. Hydrogen should also become more important. Hydrogen is a gas that factories can use without harming the climate. Pipelines and storage sites should be built for it.

Planning and permitting procedures are to be shortened further so that new capacity is connected to the grid quickly. On hydrogen, the SPD wants to support production within the state and build infrastructure faster, from pipelines and distribution grids to ports and storage. The state's hydrogen roadmap is to be implemented and updated regularly. As an example, the platform cites the large PEM electrolyzer at BASF's Ludwigshafen site.

The SPD wants Rhineland-Palatinate to become climate-neutral by 2040. Climate protection is to be combined with social cohesion and economic success, and municipalities are to keep receiving support for local climate projects.

The SPD wants Rhineland-Palatinate to be climate-neutral by 2040. That means the state no longer harms the climate. Climate protection should be affordable for everyone. Towns will keep getting help for climate projects.

According to the platform, climate protection only works if all citizens benefit and can take part, including people with low incomes. Clean energy is to be affordable for everyone. The SPD points to the municipal investment program for climate protection and innovation (KIPKI) and wants to keep funding concrete local projects. Energy regions in the state are to be expanded to strengthen regional value creation and citizen participation.

The SPD wants a citizens' energy law requiring that nearby municipalities share in the profits of new wind and solar plants. In addition, funding for electricity storage is to grow and solar power is to become easier for tenants to use.

New wind turbines and solar plants make a profit. Nearby towns should get a share of it. This should become mandatory. The SPD also wants more funding for power storage. Renters should be able to use solar power more easily.

The obligation is to apply to municipalities within three kilometers of new plants. The Bürgerenergiegesetz (citizens' energy law) is to create the basis in state law without making projects uneconomic; the Solidarpakt (solidarity pact) instrument is also mentioned. Funding for electricity storage is to grow so that solar power is available even when the sun is not shining. Balcony solar panels and wall boxes are also to be supported. Generating renewable electricity in apartment buildings is to become simpler.

The SPD wants to connect new wind, solar and biogas plants to the grid faster, ease permitting and draw up a storage strategy for the state. Plants are to be built primarily on sealed surfaces and along roads to spare other land. Bioenergy, hydrogen and hydropower are also to play a role.

The SPD wants more power from wind, sun and biogas. New plants should connect to the grid faster. Permits should become simpler. Solar plants should mainly go on built-up land. The state should get a plan for power storage.

Where the expansion of renewables does not yet take priority when weighed against other protected interests, the SPD wants to examine changes to state law. Photovoltaics are to be built preferably over already sealed surfaces and on suitable public buildings, wind turbines increasingly along highways and state and county roads. The storage strategy is meant above all to enable large-scale storage quickly and make grid-supporting use of private and public storage easier. The party commits to bioenergy, wants to keep implementing its hydrogen roadmap and will examine the potential of hydropower. Permitting rules are to be developed further for hydropower plants that are economically viable and compatible with nature.

The SPD wants a heating transition that combines climate protection with affordability. It is to be based on municipal heat and energy planning that relies on renewables; local and neighborhood heat networks are to be funded.

Homes should be heated in a climate-friendly way. This should stay affordable for people. Towns plan where the heat comes from. The SPD wants to fund heat networks for neighborhoods.

The platform justifies this by noting that buildings cause about a quarter of CO2 emissions. Support is planned for linking self-generated electricity with own consumption, for example a solar system with a battery that supplies the household, heat pump and electric car. Highly efficient combined heat and power is also to play an important role in the heat networks. Together with the expansion of charging infrastructure, this is meant to create a reliable and climate-neutral supply for towns and municipalities.