Around eight years after its introduction, the controversial 10H distance rule for wind turbines was relaxed on Wednesday. From now on, new wind turbines should be able to be built with a uniform minimum distance of 1000 meters to residential areas. In addition, the distance rule will no longer apply along motorways or railway lines, in industrial areas or in the forest. As a result of the easing, the government expects a massive increase in newly approved wind turbines in Bavaria.
The cabinet sees a need for improvement in the area of energy transition, but progress is already being made in wind energy, said Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (free voters) after the cabinet meeting on Tuesday. More than 20 wind turbines are currently in the approval phase, 35 more have already been approved but have not yet been built. “We’re making significant progress here,” said Aiwanger.
Within the coalition of CSU and Free Voters, the 10-H rule had led to many discussions for months. In the CSU, many MPs had resisted easing for a long time. For the Bavarian Greens, however, the easing does not go far enough – they are demanding an immediate and complete abolition of the distance rule. Instead of proceeding in a strategically sensible manner, the government is “stumbling from a complete blockade into a chaotic system,” said Green spokesman for energy and climate protection, Martin Stümpfig. A few weeks ago, the SPD had also applied in the state parliament for the Bavarian special rule to be deleted without replacement.
The 10-H rule introduced by former Prime Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) in 2014 stipulates that the distance between wind turbines and the nearest housing estate should generally be at least ten times their construction height. The regulation had practically brought the expansion of wind energy in Bavaria to a standstill in recent years – while 400 approval applications were made in 2013, in 2020 there were only three.