Recently there has been a bit of a lull as far as the development of the planned wind farm in the Ebersberg Forest is concerned. But now the project could – to stay with the image – get a breath of fresh air. Because the weeks of negotiations between the Bavarian State Forests as the property owner and a project partner for the implementation of the project are about to be concluded. District Administrator Robert Niedergesäß (CSU) now indicated this during a press conference: “I am confident that a solution will soon be found.” This is also urgently needed in order to further advance the construction of the planned wind turbines and thus take a big step towards the energy transition in the Ebersberg district.
Since the insolvency of Green City AG, with which the district and state forests actually wanted to build the five rotors, everyone involved has temporarily stopped. For a long time it was not clear who should now implement the large-scale project in the Ebersberg Forest, for which a narrow majority of the district residents had voted in a referendum in spring 2021. In addition to the bankruptcy of the Munich energy company, the site security contract concluded between Green City and the state forest for the five wind turbines expired at the end of September last year. Since then, the entire project has been in limbo.
Execution could already be reported in the next few days
This impasse should now be ended in the next few days, when the signature under the new site security agreement has dried. However, it is not yet known with which partners the state forests want to continue the project in the forest. For Robert Niedergesäß, the most important thing is that the planning for the wind farm is finally picking up speed again. For the district administrator, there is no question that the rotors play a decisive role in the energy transition in the district: “We cannot do without the wind turbines in the forest.”
Niedergesäß said that, above all, with a view to the goal set by the district itself of being free of fossil fuels by 2030. There are still seven years left until then, but it is already becoming apparent that there will not be enough time. According to the district administrator, he is basically an optimistic person, but as of today he would rather not bet that this goal can be achieved by then. “There’s still a big mountain ahead of us.”
To make matters worse, the district itself only plays a minor role when it comes to the energy transition. Although one can convert one’s own buildings and vehicle fleet, which has already been done to a large extent, the main task comes to the municipalities and the individual citizens. “The district office accompanies the processes in the communities, but has little authority itself,” says Niedergesäß, who therefore referred to the advice offered by the energy agency. However, whether this will be accepted depends on the willingness of the district citizens. “After all, we cannot order that everyone now has to buy an electric car,” said the district administrator.
The situation with wind power is similar, with the district also taking on more of an advisory role. Above all, the individual communities have to become active themselves – but this is already happening in many places, as Niedergesäß said with regard to the very concrete plans of the communities of Bruck and Moosach and the recently presented planning of the city of Ebersberg. In order to create the energy transition in the district, the systems in the Ebersberg forest are also necessary. As the district administrator reaffirmed, the number should be limited to a maximum of five, as stipulated in the agreement with the state forests: “I assume that both sides will adhere to the contract.”