Schleswig-Holstein: truancy and wind power under pressure!

Schleswig-Holstein: truancy and wind power under pressure!

There is all sorts of excitement in Schleswig-Holstein these days - both on the football field and in the wind power industry. Football fans can look forward to an exciting duel: Holstein Kiel settled for a 1-1 draw in the match against Darmstadt 98. Coach Marcel Rapp is satisfied with the result, but still sees room for improvement. The Kiel team remains in the middle of the table. SC Weiche Flensburg also celebrated a success: They won 5:3 against SV Meppen in the Regionalliga Nord, which certainly creates a good atmosphere among the fans.

But the weather is more of a problem for the people of Schleswig-Holstein. A storm brings hurricane-force winds and rain, which resulted in some fallen trees. Despite everything, there has been little damage so far and fortunately no injuries. Ferry traffic in North Frisia is severely restricted, and a storm surge on the North Sea has even been announced for next Sunday.

Truancy and Thanksgiving parade

Another topic concerns the educational landscape: In the first half of the 2024/25 school year, 2,770 truants were recorded in Schleswig-Holstein, which represents an increase of 500 compared to the same period last year. The reasons often lie in psychological stress, family crises and excessive demands at school. Researchers from the universities of Flensburg and Leipzig will be working until 2027 to find out how schools can better reach their students.

Meanwhile, the people of Vaale are preparing for the largest Thanksgiving parade in northern Germany. Over 70 festively decorated floats and playing music groups bring a happy atmosphere to the region, while a nationwide Thanksgiving festival with a church service and festival mile is celebrated in Wilster on Sunday.

Wind power expansion as a future topic

A central issue that could shape the future of Schleswig-Holstein is the expansion of wind turbines. The state remains a national leader in wind power expansion, although approvals for new systems fell slightly last year. In 2024, 204 new wind turbines were approved, with a total output of 1.1 gigawatts. While the approval process in Schleswig-Holstein takes an average of 18 months, the national average is around 23 months. The efficiency is therefore clearly visible.

The renewable energy production is particularly impressive. In 2024, an impressive 27.3 terawatt hours of green electricity were generated in Schleswig-Holstein, which covers more than twice the country's electricity consumption. This means that Schleswig-Holstein gets almost twice the energy it needs from renewable sources. The installed wind power output is currently 9.0 gigawatts, which is slightly behind compared to other federal states such as Lower Saxony with 12.9 gigawatts. Despite this shortfall, the future prospects are promising.

The state government plans to aim for a generation of 45 terawatt hours by 2030 and is urgently calling for the expansion of power lines in order to be able to efficiently route the green electricity produced to the consumption centers. The pressure on the new federal government to create reliable framework conditions for the energy transition is growing. The Minister for Energy Transition, Tobias Goldschmidt, emphasized the need to introduce the amendment to the Federal Requirements Plan Act.

In the midst of all these developments, Schleswig-Holstein shows itself to be a district that is not only active in sports, but is also intensively committed to a green and sustainable future. We can only hope that the wind – regardless of the context – is favorable.