Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – North Rhine-Westphalia is reducing the bureaucracy of using the sun, wind and earth around your own house. On Friday, the state government published a decree that makes it easier for homeowners to expand renewable energies.
“Climate protection homemade”, Minister of Construction Ina Scharrenbach (CDU) called the initiative. “This enables, for example, solar systems on the roofs of terraced or semi-detached houses and the installation of heat pumps in single or two-family houses,” she announced in Düsseldorf. “With rising energy prices, this not only saves money in the long term, but also makes a contribution to climate protection.”
On the basis of the new decree, solar systems could now be installed on the roofs of detached and semi-detached houses without a gap to the neighboring boundary wall. However, this exception to the previous distance regulation in the state building regulations must be requested in writing from the building control authority. It only applies to building classes 1 and 2.
The minimum distance does not apply to heat pumps either. A building permit is not required for the installation of a heat pump, the ministry explained. Here, too, the exception to the usual minimum distance must be requested from the supervisory authority. “The entrepreneur who installs and connects the heat pump must declare to his client that the heat pump complies with all public law regulations.” This also included the immission control regulations. “If the homeowner installs the heat pump himself, he must have this certified by an expert.”
In addition, the decree makes it clear that “procedure-free construction projects” also include small or micro wind turbines that are significantly less than ten meters in size. In areas that are primarily used for residential purposes, however, wind turbines would still have to be approved “due to the possible potential for conflict in the neighbourhood”.
