Germany’s far-right AfD party has leveraged opposition to renewable energy projects to garner support in two critical east German state elections on September 1.
The party, which is polling in first place in both Thuringia and Saxony with around 30% of the vote, has made resistance to wind energy expansion a focal point of its campaign.
The AfD is advocating for stricter planning rules for wind turbines, increased energy-storage requirements for renewable projects, and the rollback of mandates that require set proportions of land to be used for wind energy.
These proposals have resonated with rural communities frustrated by the federal government’s push towards renewable energies, particularly in areas like Saxony and Thuringia, where opposition to wind power is significant.
In villages such as Chemnitz-Euba, local residents, concerned about the impact of wind turbines on property values and the landscape, are increasingly shifting their support to the AfD.
“This is not about right or left. This is simply about a story that affects all of us,” said Frank Stuehmer, leader of a local initiative opposing wind turbines. He, like many others, plans to vote for the AfD for the first time.
Despite its rising popularity, the AfD is unlikely to form a government, as other parties refuse to enter into coalitions with it. However, the party’s influence could shift mainstream discourse on wind energy, potentially delaying or obstructing the implementation of renewable projects.
This shift could jeopardize Germany’s green energy transition, as eastern states like Saxony and Thuringia are critical for expanding wind-power infrastructure due to their lower population density.
Pollsters and analysts warn that the AfD’s growing influence could significantly impact energy policy.
“The success of the energy transition will be decided in the east. However, it is precisely here that sensitive resistance has developed, which the AfD is increasingly mobilising politically,” said Matthias Diermeier, a researcher at the German economic institute IW Koeln.
As the AfD continues to gain traction, wind power installations in Saxony and Thuringia have already lagged, with only 16 new turbines built in 2023 out of 745 installed across all 16 German states.
The AfD’s election platform in Saxony proposes a regulation that would require wind turbines to be placed at a distance from residential areas equivalent to 10 times their height, a rule that the wind power association says would severely restrict new construction.
With power and heating prices already 22% higher in the east compared to western Germany, the AfD’s argument that renewable energy expansion is raising domestic energy costs is resonating with many voters.
Even if the AfD remains in opposition, its influence could still shape the debate on wind energy, particularly as the likely fragmentation of the vote in the upcoming elections could make forming stable governments difficult.
The AfD’s decade-long effort to shift public opinion on energy policy is bearing fruit, and its success in the upcoming elections could have long-lasting implications for Germany’s renewable energy goals. “They have been working on (shifting the debate) for 10 years and we are seeing this growing resistance among the population. The fact that they are succeeding should definitely not be underestimated,” Diermeier added.
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