Saarland in 14th place in energy transition: Where is the progress?

Saarland in 14th place in energy transition: Where is the progress?

The energy transition is on everyone's lips, but what exactly is the situation in Saarland? The environmental association WWF has now published its federal state rankings for the energy transition and there is serious news for Saarland: at number 14, it is one of the bottom of the list. Only Hesse and Hamburg have had it worse People's friend reported.

The ranking gets to the bottom of progress in four key areas: the expansion of renewable energies, transport infrastructure, land consumption and the areas of buildings and heat. Given the challenges that Saarland has here, it could really need to catch up. The energy efficiency of the existing buildings is particularly noticeable and is at the bottom of this rating. This is no glory, as Saarland only achieved the lowest value in the entire national comparison.

Nature conservation and organic farming are in the foreground

Despite the bleak outcome of the energy transition, there are also bright spots. Saarland has the highest proportion of nature reserves in Germany and scores above average in the area of ​​organic farming. These are positive aspects, but they don't really help much in the overall ranking. The ongoing expansion of cycle paths and charging stations for electric cars is also below average, which doesn't exactly offer good prospects for future mobility in Saarland.

Brandenburg is the undisputed leader in this ranking, followed by Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. This shows that the political will and implementation of the state governments in the different regions can make a significant contribution to success WWF explained.

A look at the numbers

The data from the Federal Environment Agency confirms the trend: in 2024, 22.4% of German gross final energy consumption was covered by renewable energies. These are advances that can be observed nationwide, but are not noticeable to the same extent in Saarland. While Germany as a whole is expanding its renewable energy capacity, Saarland is lagging behind in many areas.

In order to turn things around, targeted investment in technical infrastructure is necessary. Heat pumps make up a smaller proportion of central heating in Saarland and the expansion of renewable sources is still far from where it could be. These challenges make it clear that there is a lack of both political and social commitment to effectively shape the energy transition in Saarland. Compared to other federal states, Saarland lacks a good hand when it comes to implementing sustainable projects.

With a clear look forward, it is to be hoped that those responsible in Saarland will now give the necessary impetus to improve significantly in the next rankings. Citizens are called upon to do their part and actively support the energy transition so that Saarland does not fall behind while other federal states celebrate progress.

The development remains exciting and shows that there is still a lot to do here to be sustainable and to counteract the climate crisis. What the future looks like will also depend on all of us. Ultimately, each of us is required to make our contribution.