The Bavarian state government sees a boost for new wind turbines after the relaxation of the 10-hour distance rule. Among other things, two new large wind farms are to be built in the Franconian Forest and in the chemical triangle in south-eastern Bavaria, as Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) said on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting. Up to 340 systems are now being planned across Bavaria, or some are about to be approved: “There’s actually a fresh wind blowing for the wind.” Overall, home energies are “fully implemented”, said Söder as a balance for the year 2022. In terms of photovoltaics, Bavaria should become “sunny country number one”, also in Europe. The accelerated expansion of all renewable energies is a “central adjusting screw” for energy supply, but also to “achieve the ambitious Bavarian climate protection goals”, according to the cabinet report. A note not without reason: In the afternoon, the adoption of the reformed climate protection law was on the agenda in the state parliament – which is not without controversy. Green parliamentary group leader Ludwig Hartmann criticized it as “non-binding, unambitious and irresponsible”.
It is the end of a year in which energy policy also took up more space in national politics than ever before – because of the war of aggression against Ukraine and the loss of Russian gas. There were harsh differences between the traffic light coalition in Berlin and the state government – for example about the plans of Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) from the summer, according to which each federal state is assigned a binding wind turbine quota. On Tuesday, Söder also renewed his criticism of the traffic light that only allowed the three remaining nuclear power plants to run until mid-April next year. It is “completely incomprehensible” to him why the federal government refuses to recognize reality.
The state government decided this year to reform the 10-H rule, according to which a wind turbine must be at least ten times its height from the nearest place of residence. For years, the CSU did not want to shake it. It is true that 10 H will also apply in the future; but now only a minimum distance of 1000 meters to the nearest place of residence has to be maintained in certain wind energy areas. 1000 meters is also sufficient along motorways, multi-lane federal roads and main railway lines, in forests or in the vicinity of industrial areas. Söder had repeatedly emphasized that without the stipulations, there would be an “asparagus shock” and “strife in the villages” in many places. Most recently, he increasingly staged himself as a wind power fan, such as when a wind turbine was commissioned in Lower Bavaria.
The large-scale inter-communal wind farm Rennsteig/Energy Park Frankenwald project is intended to supply the local glass industry directly with wind power from 15 plants. A public survey showed 85 percent approval. The wind farm in south-eastern Bavaria is intended to strengthen the chemical industry, which depends on reliable energy, with 30 to 40 turbines, “that would be the largest onshore wind project in Germany”. However, an investor has not yet been found, as Söder said when asked. The exact timetable has not yet been set. The aim of the state government is to build at least 800 to 1000 wind turbines over the next few years.
In the state forest, the government is setting a good example, it said. According to this, 101 wind turbines are currently in operation there. The aim is to launch at least 100 more in the near future. Site security agreements have already been concluded for a further 70 plants. As the Bavarian State Forests also reported to SZ on request, a wind turbine in the state forest was last put into operation in 2018. In the years 2021 and 2022, no new wind turbines were approved or put into operation in the state forest – so nothing happened for a long time. Since Söder’s government statement in the summer of 2021, with the first announcement of the 10-H reform, one has seen “a sharp increase in demand from municipalities and project developers for locations in the state forest”. An exact number of inquiries from investors in 2022 cannot be communicated, as many inquiries are initially received by the forest companies and are discussed at the local level. According to the state forests, the total number of inquiries from investors and interested parties in 2022 will be several dozen.
There is no wind
In Söder’s eyes, the decision on the 10-H reform was a “starting signal for investors,” he said on Tuesday. Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (FW) said that the change, for example for forests and motorways, was “not done blindly”, but exactly where it hurts less and the benefit is as great as possible. The concept is “conclusive and thought through to the end”. Nevertheless, the cabinet report mentions the “worse wind conditions” as “one of the main obstacles to the expansion of wind energy in southern Germany compared to other locations”. Therefore, wind energy projects in Bavaria are often not economically feasible.
In the case of solar power, the dynamic of the expansion is “unbroken”, from January to September 2022 alone there was an increase of almost nine percent in photovoltaic systems. The Free State is going ahead with model projects, for example for state goods. The state government wants to make 125 million euros available to the departments concerned for the development of open potential on suitable state roofs. Hydropower and biomass also played an important role in domestic energies.
According to the amendment to the Climate Protection Act, which was passed in the second reading in the state parliament on Tuesday, Bavaria should be climate-neutral by 2040 – five years ahead of the federal government and ten years ahead of the EU. Specifically, it is about 150 individual measures, including energy and transport, but also nature and the environment. Florian von Brunn (SPD) spoke in the debate of “Söder’s climate strolling coalition”. The government is probably relying on “voodoo, at least not on concrete measures” to achieve the goals. Environment Minister Thorsten Faithr (FW), on the other hand, said that Bavaria was “strong and good” when it came to climate protection, and that renewable energies would be “promoted to an extent like no other federal state”.