Baden-Württemberg wants to speed up its climate transition by 10 years

The state government in Stuttgart wants to blanket their province with solar panels

Germany’s state of Baden-Württemberg will mandate its citizens to install solar panels on their homes every time they do major roof renovations, according to a new law coming into effect on 1 January 2023. The same applies to the construction of new buildings, however, the law will come into effect sooner, on 1 May of next year.

Moving fast or catching up?

The Green-CDU coalition government has some ambitious goals in the fight against climate change in the near future. Baden-Württemberg wants to stay at least five years ahead of the federal government and get to climate neutrality by the year 2040. This will greatly outpace Germany’s overarching milestone of 90% climate neutrality by the year 2050.

The new law will make developers install photovoltaic systems during the construction of new buildings from 1 May of 2022, with the same rule applying for parking spaces larger than 35 cells. Homeowners will also have to keep this regulation in mind, as every major roof renovation from 1 January of 2023 onwards will come with mandatory solar panels.

Environment Minister Thekla Walker underlined the fact that this is one of the most progressive climate protection laws on the provincial level in the whole country. Before the state parliament’s summer break a week ago, the coalition government in Stuttgart agreed to create solar obligations for schools, commercial buildings, and supermarkets. Now, they have decided to expand upon their preliminary ideas.

More and more solar systems are going up across Baden-Württemberg, with 2020’s output being a good 30% higher than that of the previous year. However, there is still some catching up to do in terms of both solar and wind energy. The proportion of “green” electricity in the state’s overall energy production breakdown is around 30%, which is about 10% lower than the country’s average.

The flood makes this law very urgent

The floods from last week and this week as well hitting Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria and Romania had a sharpening effect on the region’s overview on the urgency of climate change.

Germany’s death toll sits at 169 people, while material damages are estimated to cost around 2 billion euros, and that is just when it comes to infrastructure. At the same time, the country pledged financial aid for citizens who suffered material damages, and that will surely push the cost up.

Minister Walker explained that her rationale for the law is to mitigate the consequences of climate change and ultimately make future generations' efforts easier.