Industry warns Bavaria's role as economic powerhouse at risk for lack of renewables
Augsburger Allgemeine
The head of industry chamber IHK Schwaben has warned Germany鈥檚 southern economic powerhouse Bavaria could fall behind regions in the north and east of the country that have better access to renewable power for industrial purposes. 鈥淭omorrow鈥檚 Bavaria, meaning Bavaria in 30 years, will be called Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania,鈥� IHK head Andreas Kopton聽聽the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. The state in northeastern Germany, which is significantly poorer than affluent Bavaria, has 鈥渆nough green power, room for new production locations and those who are responsible welcome new businesses,鈥� Kopton said. The industry lobbyist said the Bavarian government under conservative Markus S枚der from the Christian Social Union (CSU) had neglected the buildout of renewables for too long and obstructed the expansion of national power transmission lines needed to transfer excess renewable power from the north to the south. 鈥淵ou cannot turn off the nuclear power plants without having an alternative,鈥� Kopton said. Energy-intensive industries would no longer choose to locate in Bavaria if there is more renewable power available in eastern and northern states, all of which boast a much higher wind power capacity than Bavaria. This would put Bavaria鈥檚 current 鈥渟uccess model鈥� based on cheap nuclear power in jeopardy, Kopton warned. He called for a runtime extension for Bavaria鈥檚 Isar 2 nuclear plant and also for a re-start of another already decommissioned plant. 鈥淧oliticians should put their party membership aside and act like entrepreneurs,鈥� he argued.
While Bavaria leads among German states in solar power capacity, the largest German state by area has been particularly reluctant to embrace wind power generation. Moreover, the state that has been politically dominated by the CSU for decades, blocked plans to increase power transmission line capacity from north to south for years. CSU head Markus S枚der has been among the most outspoken proponents of a runtime extension for nuclear power in response to the energy crisis, as a decommissioning of the Isar 2 plant as planned could lead to power supply stability challenges during the coming winter. S枚der recently announced the state would build 1,000 new onshore wind turbines.
