Source: Energy & Management Powernews, 05 April 2022
Environment and Economics Ministry presented key points for faster wind power expansion through uniform species protection requirements. This is to shorten approval procedures.
Federal Ministry for the Environment and the Federal Ministry of Economics want to simplify and make more efficient the species protection review for onshore wind turbines. While maintaining high and European ecological protection standards, wind turbines should thus be approved quickly and with legal certainty. On April 4, Federal Minister of Economics and Climate Protection Robert Habeck and Federal Minister of the Environment Steffi Lemke (both Greens) presented a joint key points paper on this in Berlin.
Habeck said that clear and binding rules for species protection in wind expansion would thus apply in Germany in the future. "Now the way is clear for more wind energy areas on land," the minister emphasized. The expansion of renewable energy plants is all the more important in view of Russia's war against Ukraine, which makes it more expeditiously necessary "to free ourselves from the grip of fossil oil and gas imports." The current world climate report makes it clear that it should not only be about other sources of supply, but about a general replacement of fossil fuels.
More areas possible
"The search area for suitable sites will now be significantly increased," Habeck promised for the areas for wind turbines. In the states, the agreement creates more legal certainty in decisions, and permits could be issued more easily and quickly, he said. "Deviating regulations by the states are no longer possible, with a few exceptions," Habeck said, referring to distance rules such as those in Bavaria or North Rhine-Westphalia, which have prevented wind power expansion until now.
Lemke explained, "We are thus moving forward decisively in combating the dual ecological crisis, the climate crisis and species extinction." Efficient and legally secure planning procedures for wind power would be complemented by a species assistance program to strengthen nature conservation. As a next step, the pact with the states agreed in the coalition agreement would be implemented quickly to better equip local authorities with staff and technical infrastructure, the minister promised.
Nationally uniform species protection standards
In particular, the cornerstones would for the first time regulate nationally uniform, legal standards for testing and assessing the extent to which a wind turbine significantly increases the collision risk for endangered bird species. The basis for this will be a conclusive nationwide list of breeding bird species at risk of collision. These standards are to be laid down in the Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG). In addition, species protection exceptions are to be easier and legally secure to obtain in the future.
The replacement of old wind turbines with new and more powerful ones (repowering) is also to be made easier by transferring existing simplifications from immission control law to nature conservation law and making them more concrete. This would eliminate the need for time-consuming alternative assessments for many of these projects. Until the area target for onshore wind energy in the amount of 2% of the federal area provided for in the coalition agreement is met, wind turbines should therefore also be permissible in principle within landscape protection areas (LSG), while the planning authorities remain responsible, Lemke concluded.
Reactions of the associations cautiously positive
For the municipal companies, VKU chief executive Ingbert Liebing said, "The proposals that are currently on the table can actually be a breakthrough to create the 2 percent area target for the expansion of onshore wind power." However, open issues would still have to be clarified with the planning authorities. Municipal utilities and municipal companies would be ready to invest in a climate-neutral energy supply.
The German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE) and the German Wind Energy Association (BWE) welcomed the key issues paper while calling for orderly association participation for implementation. BEE President Simone Peter recalled, "In addition to bird species, a uniform federal requirement would also be necessary for bat species." It appears problematic that the prohibition of disturbance is still not to be regulated on a uniform federal level. That could mean further blockades in the permission procedures, warned Hermann Albers, president of the BWE.
Olaf volume, chairman of the federation for environment and nature protection Germany (BUND), criticized that protection of species is abused as reason for too slow procedures. Instead, he said, there was a lack of binding requirements for the states to designate nature-compatible priority areas for wind power expansion. This must be accompanied by more citizen participation as well as capacity building at the authorities, including in nature conservation, he said. "Citizens, municipalities and companies must be able to produce, consume and share energy together," Bandt appealed.
The joint Eckpunktepapier von BMWK und BMUV is available for download.
Autor: Susanne Harmsen