Germany also wants to become independent of natural gas and oil with the help of wind energy. But the expansion of wind power is progressing slowly – also in Thuringia.
Erfurt (dpa/th) – The expansion of wind energy in Thuringia is progressing relatively slowly. According to the Ministry of Energy, 16 new wind turbines have been built in Bavaria so far this year. Because two turbines were dismantled at the same time, an actual increase of 14 wind turbines remains. “Of course it would be better if there were more,” said Minister Anja Siegesmund (Greens) of the German Press Agency. Nevertheless, the country is making itself more independent of fossil energy generation with each individual plant.
In addition, the country protects the climate and becomes more responsible for the generation of energy. However, it remains undisputed that “we need more speed in the designation of sites and the approval,” said Siegesmund. Compared to the previous year, the situation in Thuringia has improved slightly. According to the ministry, 14 new wind turbines were built in 2021 – with the simultaneous demolition of seven systems. In total, there are currently 858 wind turbines in Thuringia. The expansion of wind energy in Thuringia has been politically controversial for years. While red-red-green is open to the construction of new wind turbines, the opposition has great concerns about this energy policy. Under pressure from the CDU and FDP, a change in the law in 2020 completely banned the construction of wind turbines in Thuringian forests. Numerous citizens’ initiatives had also opposed the expansion of wind energy in recent years. Nevertheless, it is considered likely that the number of wind turbines in Thuringia will continue to increase. According to the ministry, 51 new wind turbines were approved last year alone, but not all have been built. One reason for this is that many operators decided to take part in a tender in order to be able to benefit from a subsidy for the systems under the Renewable Energy Sources Act. According to a ministry spokesman, this presupposes that the systems have already been approved. Plants are often only actually built after such funding has been approved.
