Bavaria: 40 wind turbines for the chemical triangle – Bavaria

40 wind turbines, each 280 meters high from the foundation to the rotor tip, 550 million kilowatt hours of green electricity per year and an investment volume of 400 million euros: The wind farm that is to be built in the north of the south-eastern Bavarian chemical triangle in the Öttinger Forest (district of Altötting) is that largest wind power project in Bavaria to date. These days it has taken an important step forward. The Bavarian State Forests (BaySF), which manage the Öttinger Forest for the Free State, have chosen the planner, builder and operator of the wind farm. It is Qair Deutschland GmbH, headquartered in Munich. Simon Ruckinski, who is responsible for the development business at Qair, and Rainer Droste, who is responsible for wind power at BaySF, now have that Süddeutsche Zeitung confirmed.

The wind farm in Öttinger Forst is of immense importance. First of all for the region. The companies in the south-eastern Bavarian chemical triangle have provided the district of Altötting with attractive jobs, full employment and prosperity for decades. On the other hand, the chemical industry is facing huge challenges. Because it too must become climate-neutral in the near future. The chemical industry is particularly energy-intensive. The companies in the chemical triangle consume five billion kilowatt hours of electricity a year. That is a good six percent of the electricity requirements of the whole of Bavaria. Every kilowatt hour of green electricity from the region is welcome. “We take electricity as it comes,” Peter von Zumbusch, the plant manager of Wacker-Chemie in Burghausen and chairman of the local industry association ChemDelta Bavaria, has repeatedly said in the past.

But the project is also very important for the state government and the Free State. It shows that Bavaria is finally making headway with wind power. For almost ten years, the CSU blocked its expansion against all protests from the Greens, the SPD, the Free Voters and the environmental scene because they didn’t want to “sparge” the landscape in this country with windmill towers, as it was repeatedly said. Only when the Green Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck no longer accepted the Bavarian anti-wind power course and forced the Free State by federal law to provide a quota of land for wind turbines did Prime Minister Markus Söder and his party submit. Nevertheless, the Free State is still lagging behind dramatically compared to the rest of the country. In 2022, just 14 wind turbines were connected to the grid in Bavaria. In Lower Saxony, which is a third smaller, there were 103. The wind farm in Öttinger Forst is now the first major project to be implemented in this country. For this reason, too, it marks a departure.

It is therefore very surprising that massive criticism has now come from the Greens of all people. The Green member of the state parliament, Martin Stümpfig, speaks of “rip-offs in the state forest”, he accuses the BaySF of “maximum profit being the priority instead of community friendliness and citizen participation”. The state government is “falling over itself in promises” that for them “absolute community friendliness and citizen models” are the top criteria in the development of wind farms. But now “the provider who puts the largest sum on the table gets the contract.” Stümpfig also accuses the BaySF of paying too little attention to the forests.

In his harsh criticism, the Greens politician refers to the points catalogue, with which the BaySF evaluated the bids received for the Öttingen wind farm. Of the 100 points that can be achieved there if various criteria are met, 62 go to the financially best offer. The points, which are about good solutions for the forest, add up to a maximum of 16. The remaining points are awarded for technical and planning details, but also, for example, the completeness of the documents submitted.

As far as the public participation promised by the state government is concerned, Stümpfig complains that the applicants only had to be willing to pay the 0.2 cents per kilowatt hour of wind power generated recommended in the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) to the municipality on whose corridor the wind turbine is located . “That’s standard today,” says Stümpfig. “Why isn’t the submission of a concept for public participation required in the tender and rewarded with a high score?” His conclusion: “This tender is terrible.”

Staatsforsten and Qair reject the criticism

The state forests and Qair strictly reject Stümpfig’s criticism. “Public participation and the interests of the municipalities are very important to us,” says BaySF manager Droste. “That’s why the investor is selected in a two-stage process.” In the first stage, the applicants must undertake to meet all the requirements of the neighboring communities for the wind farm. Only when they did that did the catalog of points come into play in the second stage. “More communal friendliness is not possible,” says Droste. “Especially since we only offer areas for wind turbines if the municipalities on whose corridor they are located have agreed to this.

For Qair, this means that it is not enough to pay the neighboring communities 0.2 cents per kilowatt hour of wind power that the company generates in the new wind farm. Project developer Ruckinski confirms that Qair has also committed itself to developing a participation model for the local population – just like the city councils of Altötting and Neuötting and the municipal council of Burgkirchen an der Alz as the three neighboring communities to the condition for their approval have done project. The three mayors Stephan Antwerpen (Altötting, CSU), Peter Haugenender (Neuötting, SPD) and Johann Krichenbauer (Burgkirchen an der Alz, FW) have reaffirmed their demands these days. The EEG fee of 0.2 cents per kilowatt hour of wind power is also due.

“There are two key criteria for the success of a wind farm,” says Ruckinski. “One is the close cooperation with local politicians, the other is the financial involvement of the local population, for example through a citizens’ energy cooperative.” For this reason, Qair Germany also offers opportunities for the local population to participate in projects where this is not a formal requirement. Originally a French company, Qair specializes in the production of all types of renewable energy. It is now active in 20 countries worldwide. Last year, Qair Germany took over the insolvent Green City AG, including most of the employees and their renewable energy power plants in Munich. This makes Qair Germany one of the big players in the local industry.

It will take at least four and a half years for the wind turbines to stand

The contract for the wind farm in Öttinger Forst is a great success for the company. However, it will take another four and a half to five years for the project to be realised. Ruckinski estimates a year and a half for wind measurements, mapping and other preparatory work. He expects at least a year for the approval process. And it will take another two years for the 40 wind turbines to be set up.

The BaySF now wants to make quick progress with further tenders. Projects are currently being prepared in the Allgäu and in the Bavarian Forest. “However, these are much smaller wind farms,” ​​says BaySF man Droste. “They each include between three and five wind turbines.” Overall, the BaySF still see some potential for wind power in the state forests. “According to a potential analysis from 2020, around 450 systems are realistic in our area,” says Droste. “101 are already there. So there are still 350 left.”