Quer - A place in the sun

How many solar modules can Bavarians cope with?

The current programme of the critical and satirical weekly magazine Quer devoted a feature to the question: How many solar modules can Bavarians cope with? They clarify: "There is a broad consensus in politics and among the population about the necessity of the energy transition. The production of huge amounts of electricity must become climate-neutral in a short time. In order for this to succeed, Bavaria would have to build 3000-4000 hectares of ground-mounted solar parks annually, according to the Bavarian energy industry association. A project in Darstadt, Lower Franconia, shows that this is not always painless. The mayor and city council unanimously approved the project on 70 hectares of land. A citizens' initiative now wants to prevent the project in this size at all costs. Quer brought the parties involved together at an on-site meeting. Representatives of the citizens' initiative, Peter Juks, mayor of the town of Ochsenfurt, Pascal Lang, chairman of the EGIS eG board, Christoph Strasser, Managing Director of maxsolar, and Andreas Engl, from regionalwerke GmbH & Co. KG met on the site for an exchange. The arguments of the opponents of photovoltaic plants are mainly: "too big, too grey, blighting the landscape." On the other side: "We need a certain size of plant to generate electricity efficiently and cheaply." The community feels caught between the two fronts. Andreas Engl tries to mediate and promotes solar parks that are environmentally and species friendly. The meeting ended in a "stalemate" and with the realisation: "that Bavaria, is only the beginning of a very long conflict. Politicians are called upon to set a course, a land use concept for the generation required for the energy transition."

The complete report can be seen in the Bavarian broadcaster's media portal BR-Mediathek

Photo: Screenshot, de la Rosa