Energy transition in danger: stormy battle against wind power – Bavaria

Above all, three wind turbines are still missing for the energy transition in Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm in Upper Bavaria. The rotor blades at a height of 229 meters could actually have been turning for a long time, thanks to a community energy cooperative with at least a thousand members. But there is still a nature conservation association from the Upper Palatinate that has been trying everything for years to stop wind power in court. “What we experienced in Pfaffenhofen,” says Micha Klewar, the cooperative’s lawyer, “hopefully others will be spared in the future.”

Anyone who wants to set up wind turbines in Bavaria must expect to be sued by the Association for Landscape Conservation, Species Protection and Biodiversity (VLAB). Must reckon with the fact that financiers give up in exasperation. The VLAB has just around 7000 members. Much less than the Bund Naturschutz, which has 260,000 members. However, the small organization from the Upper Palatinate is considered a major obstacle to the expansion of wind power, which is now also being pushed by the CSU and the state government in view of the energy crisis.

The conductor and wealthy landowner Enoch zu Guttenberg, who died in 2018, actively helped to build up and financially supported the VLAB; Father of former CSU politician and minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. He was a conservationist and opponent of wind power. Enoch zu Guttenberg campaigned against the “sparging” of the landscape. “We still live off his donations today,” says the head of the association, Johannes Bradtka. With Guttenberg’s money, the VLAB continues Guttenberg’s fight against wind turbines.

The VLAB and its activists are known and feared by wind energy operators throughout Bavaria. In the Ministry of the Environment there is even talk of a “wind power prevention association”. In view of the energy crisis, the state government has given up its long-standing wind blockade. Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) wants to have 1000 new systems built. “We’re doing more with the wind now”, is the slogan that Söder issued in the summer. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the VLAB will not be able to prevent the expansion of wind power. However, the club is a “hurdle for expansion”.

The association wants to “stop excesses of the energy transition”

If you visit the VLAB on its homepage, you will be greeted by six destinations. Number one: “Preserve cultural landscapes”, with forests in the background. Number two: “Stop the excesses of the energy transition”, plus eight wind turbines that tower over a church and a village. The association is committed to bird and landscape protection. The VLAB used to be a regional association called “Unser Hessenreuther Wald eV”. This is one of the few large contiguous and near-natural forest areas in north-eastern Bavaria. Years ago, conservationists warned against “massive interference” with roads and wind turbines because ospreys, black storks and red kites would live there.

Later, the Hessenreuther Wald eV became the VLAB, which was first recognized in Bavaria and then nationwide as a nature conservation association and was thus given the right to take legal action. The VLAB also uses this diligently to prevent wind turbines. Association leader Bradtka speaks of 15 to 17 lawsuits across Germany in the past five to seven years. But there are more complaints, such as from communities and citizens’ groups. And in quite a few cases, they are represented by the lawyer Armin Brauns from Dießen am Ammersee, who has dedicated himself to the legal fight against wind turbines. Brauns is a member of the advisory board of the VLAB.

A good two weeks ago, the VLAB held a symposium in the Schloss Wiesenfelden nature conservation center north of Straubing. Title: Species and landscape protection versus energy transition. One of the 50 or so guests included a CSU local politician, District Administrator Andreas Meier from Neustadt an der Waldnaab. One of the five speakers is Braun’s attorney. While snow is falling outside, Brauns is attacking the new wind power law inside, which Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck of the Greens has initiated. Habeck wants to slow down the brakes on wind power and legally facilitate the construction of new plants.

But the VLAB doesn’t give up that easily. The new rules, reports Brauns, violate the EU bird protection directive. You can appeal to the EU Court of Justice. The lawyer and VLAB advisory board even speaks of a violation of the Basic Law. Classifying the expansion of wind turbines as an overriding public interest is not compatible with the German constitution. Article 20a of the Basic Law prescribes the protection of natural resources and animals.

The VLAB only wants scorched earth, complains a wind power lawyer

“We have a starting point here, too,” says Brauns. “If all else fails, then we’ll go there.” Brauns predicts that the next one to two years will be marked by legal disputes. The legal options for taking action against ecologically harmful wind power projects would be restricted by the new legislation, but not completely eliminated. “I will not throw in the towel,” announces Brauns. The lawsuits, with which many wind turbines are stopped or at least severely delayed, continue. Whether it will be successful remains to be seen.

In any case, Brauns lists on its website under the keyword “Success News” legal objections, across Bavaria, for years. A prevented wind turbine in Obing in the “Chiemgau region of great value”. The planned Paintner Forst wind farm between Kelheim and Regensburg: also prevented. The permit for a wind farm in the district of Ansbach: revoked. The applications for a wind farm in Rain am Lech near Donauwörth: withdrawn by the investor.

In Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, located between Munich and Ingolstadt, the population cleared the way for a wind farm six years ago with a referendum. But then the problems began, says Micha Klewar, the lawyer for the community energy cooperative that wants to build the wind farm. The VLAB has always pushed through new species protection investigations, from the owl to the sand lizard. The VLAB does not negotiate, but only wants scorched earth. With objections and complaints up to the very last moment, says Klewar. Association chief Bradtka rejects such allegations. They do not want to delay the construction of wind turbines, and they have never done so. “Masonry does not correspond to our nature.” Rather, it is up to the judiciary if the proceedings take so long. The administrative courts are overloaded. The longest case there lasted from 2014 to 2022. “Nor are we opposed to wind power,” says Bradtka. And he doesn’t deny climate change, on the contrary. But climate protection should not be played off against species protection.

According to Bradtka, the VLAB primarily wants to protect the large contiguous forest areas such as the Bavarian Forest and the Spessart. Wind turbines are also being sued elsewhere. The wind farm in Pfaffenhofen is to be built in a forest between the city center and the A9 motorway.