The majority of the Bavarian state parliament has decided to partially relax the controversial 10-hour rule. The governing parties CSU and Freie Wahler voted unanimously for the amendment on Thursday. The opposition rejected the change. As expected, a motion by the SPD to delete the 10-H rule without replacement did not get the necessary votes.
According to the change, from November 16, new wind turbines can be built with a uniform minimum distance of 1000 meters from residential buildings. There are also six exceptions in which the construction of wind turbines is simplified, such as in so-called priority areas for generating wind energy, along railway lines, motorways, in commercial areas or in the forest.
In all other cases, the 10-H rule continues to apply. “We have to set new standards in the expansion of wind energy,” emphasized Building Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU). “Our distance of 1000 meters can simplify the procedures.” The controversial 10-H rule has so far stipulated that the distance between a wind turbine and the nearest residential area must generally be at least ten times the construction height – i.e. two kilometers for a rotor height of 200 meters. The regulation, which goes back to former Prime Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU), has practically brought the expansion of wind energy in Bavaria to a standstill in recent years.