Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: hurdle monument protection: Churches want to use more solar power

Schwerin (dpa/mv) - The parishes in the state want to make their contribution to the energy transition, but are often confronted with resistance from the area of ​​​​monument protection.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: hurdle monument protection: Churches want to use more solar power

Schwerin (dpa/mv) - The parishes in the state want to make their contribution to the energy transition, but are often confronted with resistance from the area of ​​​​monument protection. "The protection of monuments is good, but climate protection will become more important in the coming years," said Annett Barkhahn from the Mecklenburg Church Synod in a statement distributed on Friday. For a long time, society has been using more resources than nature can provide, and a reversal towards sustainable management is necessary. "It's about preserving creation," stressed Barkhahn, who is a member of the North Church's climate committee. The preservation of monuments should not slow down the protection of the climate, it had previously been said at the Mecklenburg Spring Synod.

Barkhahn pointed out that the Kirchliche Energie-Werk was founded in the church district in 2014. The company's own climate protection foundation takes care of wind turbines on church land and photovoltaic systems on roofs. In addition, she supports parishes in the purchase of e-cars and in creating the charging infrastructure. So far, 18 such projects have been implemented. The aim must be to operate the electric cars with electricity from solar systems on the vicarage or the church. Barkhahn called on the parishes to show more courage and not shy away from bureaucratic hurdles. The North Church has decided to be climate-neutral from 2035, and the Mecklenburg Church District wants to do this by 2030.

According to the Kirchliches Energiewerk, the North Church has around 5,000 buildings. It is currently being surveyed how many of these are suitable for the installation of solar systems. Most recently, the Greens in the Schwerin state parliament complained that Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was making too slow progress in expanding the generation capacities for solar power. About 8 percent of the electricity generated in the north-east comes from solar systems, in Bavaria it is about 17 percent according to statistics.