SPD on climate and energy

The SPD wants to make Schleswig-Holstein climate neutral by 2040, the first German state to get there. A climate plan would set out all necessary steps, backed by a binding CO2 budget aligned with the 1.5-degree target.

The SPD wants Schleswig-Holstein to be climate neutral by 2040. That means the state no longer harms the climate. There would be a climate plan. A fixed limit would say how much CO2 is still allowed. Experts would check this.

The party wants the climate plan to protect people socially and to support industry. An independent expert commission would propose the size of the CO2 budget and monitor compliance. A climate cabinet would coordinate the ministries, and a staff unit reporting to the state premier would track progress on the climate plan and the biodiversity strategy. The state would enable municipalities to act locally and build infrastructure itself where needed. The platform bases the goal on the state's favorable location for renewable energy and on business opportunities for companies.

The SPD wants to greatly accelerate and broaden the expansion of renewable energy, arguing that electricity demand will rise. In the next legislative term, at least two percent of the state's land area is to be used for wind power.

The SPD wants more power from wind and other clean sources. Two percent of the state's land should be for wind turbines. Old turbines should be replaced with new, stronger ones. Offices should approve projects faster and get more staff.

The SPD wants to review current wind planning within its first 100 days in government, because it doubts that the designated areas are suitable for meeting the expansion targets. Planning procedures would be sped up, and state agencies would get more staff for permits. The platform relies on repowering, meaning replacing old turbines with more powerful ones, partly to save land. Offshore wind is also set to grow, especially in the North Sea. The party justifies the expansion with the state's role as an industrial location and with climate-neutral transport and heating.

The SPD wants everyone in the state to be able to afford rooftop solar. A state program for 100,000 roofs would supplement federal funding and mainly help households with little money. Tenants should not be worse off than homeowners.

The SPD wants more solar panels on roofs. People with little money should be able to get them too. The SPD plans a support program for 100,000 roofs. Tenants should also benefit from cheap solar power.

The platform argues that solar power with storage will soon be cheaper than grid power, and that otherwise only the well-off would benefit. The state program would close gaps in KfW (federal development bank) funding, for example where households lack equity or have trouble getting loans. The SPD wants to develop leasing and rental models with municipal utilities and other providers. Apartment buildings would get dedicated funding programs and adjusted housing subsidies. Citizen-owned solar parks with broad participation would also be supported.

The SPD wants to require solar panels on new buildings and new parking lots. All suitable state-owned buildings would be fitted with photovoltaics. The party wants to steer ground-mounted solar with statewide criteria.

Anyone who builds a new house should have to put solar panels on the roof. The same should apply to new parking lots. State buildings should get solar panels too. There should be clear rules for solar panels on open land.

Owners can meet the requirement themselves or through third parties, who must be given access to the space. This is meant to ensure the technical conditions are considered from the planning stage. For ground-mounted systems, the platform calls for cooperative processes, citing land-use conflicts and lessons from mistakes in wind planning. The state would set binding permitting criteria for municipal decisions. A statewide solar roof register would be added.

The SPD wants to introduce EU-style energy communities in the state and promote citizen-owned wind and solar parks. It opposes selling these parks to energy corporations from outside the region. Jobs, investment and tax revenue should stay in the state.

Citizens should be able to own a share of wind and solar parks. The SPD wants to strengthen these citizen parks. Big energy companies from elsewhere should not buy them up. The money and the jobs should stay in the state.

According to the platform, public support for the energy transition in the state rests largely on the many citizen-owned parks. The SPD wants to strengthen local value creation and keep expertise in the state. It supports participation options at the local and municipal level. It singles out cooperative financing models in particular.

The SPD wants to push for a reform of grid fees. The costs of the power grid should be spread more evenly across Germany. In the party's view, they must not be highest where the most green power per capita is produced.

Grid fees are charges for the power lines. They are part of the electricity price. They are especially high in Schleswig-Holstein. The SPD wants all regions in Germany to pay about the same.

Grid fees are the charges electricity customers pay for building and running the networks. The platform considers it wrong that regions generating especially large amounts of renewable power bear the highest fees. The SPD therefore wants to work toward a nationwide reform.

The SPD wants to build at least 10 gigawatts of electrolysis capacity for green hydrogen in the state by 2030. As part of a "Hydrogen Hanse," Schleswig-Holstein would also become a hub for hydrogen imports. The west coast around Brunsbüttel would be its center.

Green hydrogen is an energy carrier made with green power. Industry needs it to become climate-neutral. The SPD wants to make much more of it in the state by 2030. Hydrogen from other countries should also arrive through Schleswig-Holstein.

The platform sees green hydrogen as the core of industrial change, for chemicals, steel, concrete, freight, aviation and shipping. The planned LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel is to be judged by whether it can be used for hydrogen imports; the SPD makes state support largely dependent on that. The business development agency WTSH would open cooperation offices in hydrogen-exporting regions. Hydrogen research would be expanded. The SPD also backs a central site for server farms run on green power.

The SPD wants to promote district heating networks and heat pumps to replace oil and gas heating. Besides money, the state would provide its own implementation structure with standard solutions. Building renovation would focus on whole neighborhoods.

Homes should be heated in a climate-friendly way. The SPD wants to support heating networks and heat pumps. A heating network supplies many homes with heat together. The state should help towns build them with money and experts.

Municipalities, public utilities, owners and cooperatives would receive state money for building and running heating networks. Because funding alone is not enough for full coverage, according to the platform, a state-backed body would offer standardized solutions. Solutions are to be coordinated locally in neighborhoods and municipalities. Energy-efficiency funding would concentrate on neighborhood-wide renovation. The SPD also wants to support green roofs, facades and public spaces such as bus stops.

The SPD wants to speed up a statewide climate adaptation strategy and monitor its implementation. Flood and coastal protection would be geared to the effects of warming. No further building would be allowed in flood risk areas, except for coastal protection.

Climate change brings more storm surges, heavy rain and drought. The SPD wants to prepare the state better for this. It wants to protect the coasts and inland areas from flooding. Nobody should build new homes in areas at risk.

According to the platform, about a quarter of the state's area and more than 350,000 people are threatened by storm surges. Infrastructure is to be secured against floods and severe weather through forward planning and timely measures, including inland. The handling of heavy rain and flooding would be revised, as would urban water management. Drinking and service water should remain available in dry periods, and the landscape's water balance preserved or restored. The SPD welcomes the stronger federal funding for coastal and flood protection announced in Berlin.

The SPD wants a statewide campaign to promote skilled trades and STEM degree programs that are needed for climate protection. Women in particular are to be drawn into technical jobs and fields of study. According to the platform, new workers are lacking exactly where wind power, solar, building renovation and grids need to be expanded.

Climate protection needs many skilled workers. For example in the trades and in technology. There are not enough people there. The SPD wants a campaign to promote these jobs. Women especially should choose them.

For the trades, the platform names mechatronics, plant mechanics and construction equipment operation, among others; for university, physics, chemistry, computer science and electrical engineering. Mentoring between university and school students and peer tutoring for STEM education are to be funded. Campaigns are also to interest boys in social professions and girls in STEM subjects. Where companies lack separate restrooms, the SPD wants to provide state money so that no training place fails for that reason.