At a conference table on the Rennsteig, at the northern tip of Bavaria, the energy transition is being launched. The mayor of Ludwigsstadt, Timo Ehrhardt (SPD), has invited his two colleagues from the neighboring communities to the town hall. Three mayors, three parties, one project: They want to build one of the largest wind farms in Bavaria between their municipalities. Things are heating up: “Without the federal government, this project wouldn’t have gotten that far,” says SPD man Ehrhardt. His colleague Peter Ebertsch from the Alliance for Tettau interrupts him: “No party advertising, please!” Ehrhardt replies: “That’s not biased, that’s a fact!” Thomas Löffler (CSU), the mayor of Steinbach am Wald, is also there. And between them sits Markus Ruckdeschel, five-day beard, hoodie, trekking shoes and stays still for a moment. Ruckdeschel is a so-called wind cripple. He works for the Northern Bavaria Energy Agency and is the expert in the area.
The wind cripples are a program that Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (free voters) came up with. He wants to use it to get the energy transition going in Bavaria. The energy experts are provided by the state to support the municipalities that apply. According to Aiwanger, almost 90 municipalities and around 75 wind power projects have been supported so far. The next round, the Windkümmerer 2.0, only started in January.
As a wind cripple, Ruckdeschel has to be able to keep people together. So he mediates when there are conflicts. They are unavoidable when it comes to money and wind turbines in the Bavarian countryside. He says: “When negotiations are going on, a careless word is spoken and then one side snaps. There is a human element everywhere.”
Twelve wind turbines are planned in the municipality of Ludwigsstadt, three in Steinbach am Wald and one in Tettau. The citizens of the entire region will see them. So everyone should benefit. But some questions are still open, especially about money. The mayor’s plan: The municipalities should participate in the project so that as much added value as possible remains in the structurally weak region. With 30 percent, i.e. four to five wind turbines of the 15 planned. “The project developer must now say how much money he would like for this share,” says Ruckdeschel. The mayors estimate it could be around 45 million euros. As an expert, the wind care worker supports the three municipalities in the negotiations. The mayors appreciate that. Ebertsch says: “If the negotiating partners are professionals, we also need professionals to stand by our side.”
Wind caretaker Markus Ruckdeschel says: “It’s about finding a solution with the local authorities and citizens that really fits.”
(Photo: private)
Wind care worker Ruckdeschel also advises on what is probably the most delicate question: How should the small municipalities raise the 45 million euros? “We don’t have the money in petty cash and neither do our two colleagues,” says Mayor Ehrhardt. Wind cripple Ruckdeschel lists the options: the banks could issue loans, and the local glass industry could get involved. Direct citizen participation is also conceivable. Even a separate electricity tariff for the citizens. “It’s about finding a solution with the municipalities and the local people that really fits,” he says.
Mayor Ehrhardt projects a map from the wind energy atlas onto the wall. The redder the area, the windier it is there, and the more money the wind turbines generate. The ridge between the municipalities is deep red. They estimate that they will earn 600,000 euros per year from the public welfare tax alone. “That’s a lot of money for us,” says Ehrhardt. The public welfare tax is distributed to the communities within a two and a half kilometer radius of the wind turbine. The trade tax only goes to the municipality in which the system is located.
Mayor Löffler points to a remote wind turbine on the map and says: “10 H would mean that only this one wind turbine could be built.” The 10-H rule was decided under Horst Seehofer (CSU) in 2014 and determines the distance between wind turbines and residential areas. Although the rule was only relaxed last year, there are still very strict distance rules in Bavaria. Originally, it was probably even the reason why Minister of Economics Aiwanger called the wind cripples into being, says Ruckdeschel. “Aiwanger said: We’ll do the wind care so that the municipalities can do something despite the 10 hours.”
Last year, the three mayors wanted to pick up the order from their voters. They started a citizen survey on the wind farm. And got 85 percent approval. A surprising majority by Bavarian standards. “Ten years ago we were very critical of the wind turbine in the neighboring community,” says Ehrhardt. Now it is clear to everyone that renewable energies are needed. He personally does not want to save the whole world, but make a local contribution. Mayor Löffler is committed to the glass industry. In order for it to remain, he says, you have to secure affordable electricity. “Industry is essential for our region. And it wants wind power.” Around 8000 jobs depend on the Rennsteig in the glass industry.
The energy-intensive glass industry also needs planning security
The idea for the wind farm originally came from the glass industry. If you drive from Ludwigsstadt to Klein-Tettau, where the Heinz-Glas company is based, you cross the ridge on which the 15 wind turbines are to be built. Where there was a dense forest three years ago, many slopes are bare today. This is due to the bark beetle, which can spread quickly in the Franconian Forest due to the climate crisis.
The glass industry is energy intensive. Heinz glass alone consumes as much energy as the private households of a medium-sized city like Bamberg with 77,000 inhabitants. Since the start of the Ukraine war, the company’s energy costs have tripled, says Thomas Schmidt, Energy Officer at Heinz-Glas. About four years ago, a wind power project developer contacted them, says Schmidt. “He read that we are committed to wind turbines in politics.” In the meantime, one could also imagine investing money in the wind farm. Or build one yourself. “It depends on the conditions, but so far we have nothing concrete to discuss.”
Five wind turbines and storage capacity would be sufficient, says Schmidt, to cover Heinz-Glas’s energy needs. But the company is only one of three glass companies in the region. The planned wind farm would not be enough to cover the entire needs of the glass industry, says wind farmer Ruckdeschel. “In addition, there are all the other companies that need wind energy.”
The federal government has loosened many knots in the expansion of wind power. At the state level, however, Ruckdeschel still sees a need to catch up. He himself cannot ignore climate change. Especially in the Franconian Forest, where the bark beetle rages.
However, Ruckdeschel is unimpressed by the mayor’s squabbling. “Local politics is always folklore. Basically, the three of them are absolutely together.”