There are currently 1136 wind turbines in Bavaria. Not many, considering the size of the Free State. But at the end of the year, not only the economics minister sees a trend reversal that is encouraging.
Munich (dpa/lby) – Bavaria’s Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger expects the number of wind turbines in Bavaria to double by 2027. “Several hundred wind turbines are already being planned, but it’s only just getting started. Bavaria has 2,000 municipalities, and from today’s perspective I’m assuming that there will be projects with a total of over 1,000 new wind turbines in the next five years,” said the Free Voter Head of the German Press Agency in Munich. There are currently 1136 wind turbines in use across Bavaria.
After wind power expansion in Bavaria had largely come to a standstill in recent years, not least because of the 10H rule, Aiwanger expects a real “wind power boom”: “Hardly a day goes by that I am not asked for help with a planned wind power project or hear about a plan.”
According to the Economics Ministry, 14 new wind turbines will go into operation by the end of the year. Five more systems have already been connected to the grid in the current year, it said. In addition, approvals for 24 other plants are available, for 21 wind turbines the approval procedures are already underway, so these would “hopefully be added in the next few months”. For comparison: in 2021 there were just eight systems.
“Of course there are regions that already have more experience and are more open-minded, while others are just getting used to it. But nobody refuses, you now see the opportunities more than just the counter-arguments,” said Aiwanger. The economy is calling for wind power due to the increased electricity prices from the grid, in many cases companies want to invest in wind power themselves, even entire industrial regions. “This brings a whole new dynamic and acceptance when local jobs are secured with renewable energies.”
The seven regional wind cripples couldn’t complain about a lack of work. They are currently supervising 67 projects across Bavaria, each with an average of two to three systems and involving 82 municipalities. According to the ministry, up to 200 new systems are involved here. In addition, more applications are coming in all the time.
“The cork is finally out of the bottle. The wind-on-shore law by Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has triggered a lot in Bavaria,” said Martin Stümpfig, spokesman for energy policy for the Greens in the state parliament. As a result, the state government had to give up its complete blockade. As early as next year, the first planning associations would designate 1.8 percent of their area as wind priority areas. “It shows how wrong the state government was that the loud rejecters were in the majority.”
The recognizable swing is awesome, said Stümpfig. “Now it’s a matter of removing the hurdles in the approval process by the state government – the Bavarian wind power decree is extremely complicated – to significantly speed up the process.”
This is also what the ministry wants: In order to speed up the approval process, 100 staff positions are to be created next year, particularly in the seven district governments. Currently, a procedure for a wind turbine takes at least two years.
According to Aiwanger, there are many reasons for the “boom”: “The framework conditions have already changed significantly. There is hardly any cheap gas for two cents anymore, renewables were not competitive before, now they are.” But there would also be technical improvements, such as modern wind turbines with a height of 250 meters now also working in weak wind regions. “Due to this new starting point, public acceptance has increased significantly in recent months.”
Another argument is energy security: “Arithmetically, a modern wind turbine produces electricity for 10,000 inhabitants. That’s a house number,” said Aiwanger. Citizens’ votes on wind power projects also show this: “A few years ago, these were mostly rejected with a clear majority, today they have 70 to 80 percent approval in the same regions. The tide has turned.”
A relaxed version of the 10H distance rule has been in effect in Bavaria since mid-November. From now on, new systems should be able to be built at a minimum distance of 1000 meters from residential areas – previously ten times the distance was required. In addition, the distance rule will no longer apply along motorways or railway lines, in industrial areas or in the forest. In the CSU, many MPs had resisted easing for a long time.
The 10H rule introduced by former Prime Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) in 2014 had practically brought the expansion of wind energy in Bavaria to a standstill – while 400 approval applications were made in 2013, in 2020 there were only three.
