Schleswig-Holstein in the storm of change: harvest festivals and wind power are booming!

Schleswig-Holstein in the storm of change: harvest festivals and wind power are booming!

Today, October 4th, 2025, there is exciting news to report in Schleswig-Holstein. In sports, Holstein Kiel achieved a 1-1 draw against Darmstadt 98 in the 2nd Bundesliga. Coach Marcel Rapp was satisfied with his team's performance, but still sees room for improvement. In the Regionalliga Nord, however, SC Weiche Flensburg celebrated a brilliant 5-3 win against SV Meppen. Football in Schleswig-Holstein remains on track with interesting games and developments.

A worrying issue is truancy, which has continued to rise in the first half of the 2024/25 season. A total of 2,770 students were absent during this period, which is around 500 more than the previous year. Psychological stress, family crises and excessive demands at school are the most common reasons for truancy. A team of researchers from the universities of Flensburg and Leipzig will investigate by 2027 how schools can better respond to the needs of their students.

Weather chaos and Thanksgiving celebrations

The current weather in Schleswig-Holstein is characterized by a storm that brings hurricane-force gusts and rain. Some trees have already fallen, fortunately there have been no injuries so far and only little damage. Ferry traffic in North Frisia has been severely restricted and will be stopped completely on Sunday. In addition, a storm surge in the North Sea is forecast for this Sunday.

It's all the nicer that Schleswig-Holstein also hosts the largest Thanksgiving celebrations in northern Germany on Sunday. The Thanksgiving parade in Vaale will be a real highlight with over 70 festively decorated floats and marching bands. A nationwide Thanksgiving festival including a church service and a festival mile also takes place in Wilster.

Wind power on the rise

Schleswig-Holstein remains the undisputed leader in wind power expansion in Germany. An impressive 204 new wind turbines with an output of 1.1 gigawatts were approved in 2024, and the approval process, at an average of 18 months, is well below the national average of around 23 months. There are currently 348 plants with almost 2 gigawatts of output in the pipeline, while 489 more have already received approval and can be put into operation. The country aims to generate 45 terawatt hours of electricity by 2030 to meet increasing demand.

What is particularly noteworthy is that Schleswig-Holstein generated a new record of 27.3 terawatt hours of green electricity in 2024 - more than twice as much as its own consumption. According to ndr.de, green electricity generation has more than doubled in the last ten years. However, this trend is also offset by a decline in new approvals, which is causing concern. According to zeit.de, 113 wind turbines with a total output of 574.1 MW were put into operation in Schleswig-Holstein last year, but the installed output fell by 53 percent compared to the previous year.

The industry therefore demands planning security and rapid implementation of the necessary legal framework for the energy transition. The state minister has made clear demands to the federal government in order to enable a future-proof expansion of renewable energies, as schleswig-holstein.de reports.

Overall, Schleswig-Holstein is an active country with challenges, but also with impressive progress, be it in culture, sport or in the expansion of renewable energies. The coming weeks and months will remain exciting!