energy transition - Günther sees Energy Transition in Saxony on a good path
Saxony's Energy Minister Wolfram Günther (Greens) considers the Free State to have made good progress in climate protection and the energy transition. "The future will be climate-neutral. Period," he stated during his work assessment since 2019. "We have managed to steer the course." Since the beginning of 2019, CO2 emissions have decreased by one third. However, brown coal, as the largest CO2 producer, accounts for two thirds of the emissions.
Günther acknowledged that a goal in the coalition agreement will not be met by the numbers before the election of a new Saxon State Parliament. Originally, Saxony wanted to generate an additional four Terawatt-hours of electricity from renewable energies within five years. This target is now "very concretely on the horizon." By the end of the year, the increase in the photovoltaic sector alone is 3.4 Terawatt-hours. In the wind energy sector, up to 2.2 Terawatt-hours are in planning.
The Greens had to fight hard for the energy and climate protection program, which is why it took an extra year. This is evident from the resistance within the coalition. In wind energy, a "brake track" had to be removed. The old relationships were designed for prevention. Between 2021 and 2021, there was a factual dismantling of wind energy installations and capacity. "We have stopped this, since then there has been a build-up of renewables."
According to Günther, the number of photovoltaic installations in Saxony has tripled since 2019, and their output has doubled. It was successful in involving the population. As evidence, he cited around 12,000 rooftop power plants that were supported by the state. "We wanted to make people participants in the energy transition."
Effective wind energy installations in the approval process
Günther expressed confidence that Saxony will already meet the target of the federal legislator to allocate two percent of the land area for wind energy installations by 2027. The federal government had initially only set a target of 1.4 percent. For this reason, planning authorities were personnel strengthened, said Günther.
According to the statistics of the ministry, there are currently 139 wind energy installations with a capacity of 882 Megawatts in the approval process in Saxony. If all these installations were in operation, they could supply around 800,000 to 1,000,000 private average households - as many as in the cities of Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig combined.
The Minister acknowledged that there are still opponents to wind energy installations. However, acceptance is growing, as now the municipalities can financially benefit. Politically, it is clear that the wind energy expansion should be steered and planned - to minimize conflict with residents and nature.
Günther highlighted the significance of addressing climate opponents and mentioned that municipalities now financially benefit from wind energy installations, which is contributing to an increase in acceptance.
The Federal Government initially set a target of 1.4% for wind energy installations, but Saxony is aiming for 2% by 2027. Günther attributed this ambitious goal to the personnel strengthening of planning authorities.
Despite a decrease in CO2 emissions by one third in Saxony since 2019, brown coal still accounts for two thirds of the emissions, making it a significant challenge in achieving climate neutrality.
The coalitions agreement's goal of generating an additional four Terawatt-hours of electricity from renewable energies within five years has moved from being unattainable to being "very concretely on the horizon." Renewable energy sectors like photovoltaics and wind energy are contributing significantly to this progress.
