Economics Minister Habeck wants to designate at least two percent of the state area for the construction of climate-friendly wind turbines. But no matter how much all countries want green electricity, it is difficult to get there.
The numbers are sometimes sobering: In the spring of 2022, the vast majority of federal states are lagging miles behind the federal government’s target for wind power expansion.
According to a survey by the German Press Agency, the reported values vary widely. The federal government wants two percent of the state area to be designated for the construction of wind turbines. Only three countries come close to this goal. The front runner is Schleswig-Holstein with around two percent, followed by Hesse (1.9) and Saarland (1.82). Trailing behind among the non-city states are Saxony (0.3 percent) and Baden-Württemberg (0.2).
Despite the fact that the initial situation is not comparable to that of the non-city states, there was also a big difference in the case of the city states. While Bremen still has around 1.0 percent, Hamburg has only 0.23 percent of the area designated for wind energy. In the Land Use Plan of the State of Berlin, there are no explicitly designated areas for wind energy.
Central traffic light destination
The majority of the states are bobbing between the extreme values: These include Brandenburg (1.4 percent), the densely populated North Rhine-Westphalia (1.2 percent), Saxony-Anhalt (1.08 percent), Rhineland-Palatinate (1.01) and Thuringia (0.4). Interesting: Bavaria, the largest federal state in terms of area, which is often heavily criticized nationwide for its strict 10H distance rule, still comes in at 0.69 percent. Lower Saxony pointed out that 2.1 percent would be reached by 2030.
The expansion of green electricity from wind and sun is one of the central goals of the traffic light government in the federal government – to achieve climate goals and to become less dependent on fossil energies such as Russian gas. According to plans by Federal Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens), 80 percent of the electricity should come from renewable sources by 2030, and by 2035 it should be almost 100 percent. In 2021, according to industry information, it was around 42 percent.
The Federal Ministry of Economics sees the lack of availability of land as a major problem for the expansion of onshore wind power. The previous plans of the federal states were far from sufficient, it said in January in an “opening balance” by Habeck. By the end of 2020, only around 0.8 percent of the total area was reported nationwide, but only around 0.5 percent of this was actually available for use – because, among other things, minimum distances in a number of federal states and legal obstacles to approval significantly reduce the potential. “In order to make progress here, we will enshrine in law the target of two percent of the state’s land area for onshore wind energy,” says the Federal Ministry.
Dispute between residents, environmentalists and investors
After energy prices have been rising massively for weeks as a result of the war in Ukraine, many critics of wind power – for example from business – have changed their opinions. In many places, however, the construction of wind turbines is repeatedly slowed down by protests and disputes between local residents, environmentalists and investors.
In order to increase acceptance among the population, there are sometimes strict requirements such as distance rules and other requirements – for example for the shadows cast by the rotors or the protection of animals. However, this has ensured that the expansion has stalled in many places in recent years.
In Bavaria, where the so-called 10H rule specifies ten times the distance between the height of the wind turbine and the next building, it has practically come to a standstill. In the past week, however, new movement came into the debate: After the CSU defended the controversial 10H rule against all criticism for many years, it is now open to softening. For example, construction on motorways or in commercial areas should be made significantly easier.
In the past few weeks, Habeck has repeatedly spoken out in favor of pushing the construction of climate-friendly wind turbines everywhere. It is unclear how exactly the two percent target will be anchored and whether the federal government will overturn strict distance rules like in Bavaria via a federal law. Regulations on faster planning and approval procedures are also expected.
According to the Hessian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Hessen expects that the announced simplifications in planning and approval will allow so-called priority areas to be built on with wind turbines more quickly.
Discussion about energy prices
Also in the debate is a distribution key. A spokesman for the NRW Ministry of Economics and Energy said that such a system would have to take into account the different possibilities of the countries with regard to the natural conditions, wind speeds, the terrain relief and in particular the population density.
Regardless of the debate about the designation of building areas, a discussion about energy prices has flared up among the countries. Lower Saxony’s Energy Minister Olaf Lies (SPD) wants location advantages for those federal states that do more to expand wind power than others.
In practice, this could mean that electricity would cost less in the north than in the south, making it more attractive for companies to settle there. This is exactly what the southern federal states are warning of, especially Bavaria, which is economically particularly strong. In the dpa survey, the city-states called for a special regulation, since the designation of areas is particularly difficult here due to the very limited space.