The energy turnaround, as one often hears and reads, should also be a structural turnaround. Instead of a few large systems, the electricity should come from many decentralized units. These can be photovoltaic systems as well as biogas systems, but also wind turbines. As is well known, these are not entirely uncontroversial, but there are ways and means to increase acceptance. They seem to have found them in the town of Ebersberg.
How big the rejection of wind power in Bavaria really is is not entirely clear. The CSU state parliament, at least, came to the conclusion almost eight years ago that the majority of Bavarians were against wind power and passed the 10H law, a de facto ban on wind turbines – the results at the ballot boxes since then at least suggest that this calculation could not have been entirely correct. The referendum held last year in the Ebersberg district also goes in this direction, in which a majority – albeit a narrow one – spoke in favor of the construction of five wind turbines in the Ebersberg forest. Many who rejected the project justified this on the one hand with the planned location in the forest, which is used commercially but is nevertheless perceived as worthy of protection. On the other hand, some were not quite comfortable that the implementation of the project should be in the hands of an external company.
And that’s where projects come into play, such as the one that could now be built in the south of Ebersberg – and which already has a proven role model in the district: the local residents’ wind turbine. Owners and beneficiaries would be the residents of the surrounding villages. In addition, the location would not be in the middle of the forest, which many associate with nature, but in a cultural landscape. This should also be relevant for species protection, which will decide whether construction is allowed on the site at all.
It is therefore also very positive that the city councils have now decided on the largest possible potential areas: This means that a protected species can be avoided if necessary. This increases the chances of expanding regenerative energy generation and of tolerability – both for people and for nature.