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Buzzard in front of a wind turbine (archive image): risk of collision
Photo: M. Guyt / AGAMI / blickwinkel / imago images
Rare animal species or new wind turbines, which has priority?
After years of discussions, the federal government has now found an answer to the eternal dispute - or rather: a compromise that should clear the way for the expansion of wind power.
The Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economics agreed on key points for a nature-friendly expansion of wind energy.
"The brake pads are gone," said Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens).
Nature conservation is preserved.
Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) said that a knot had been successfully cut.
In the future it will be possible to designate new areas for wind power.
Species protection and wind power will be “allies” and not opponents in the future, said Habeck.
In concrete terms, in the future there should be nationwide, legal standards for testing and evaluating the extent to which a wind turbine significantly increases the “risk of collision” for endangered bird species.
Approval procedures are to be simplified and accelerated.
At the same time, species support programs are planned in which operators of wind turbines should participate.
For years, the two ministries had been arguing about how the expansion of wind power could be better reconciled with nature and species conservation.
More land is needed to expand wind power.
So far, species protection reasons have often led to wind turbines not being approved.
The faster expansion of wind power on land plays a key role for the federal government to achieve climate protection goals and become less dependent on fossil energy imports from Russia.
Lemke said that the more rapid expansion of renewable energies became more urgent as a result of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
mic/dpa-AFX
