Zoff about wind power expansion: "Failure" - Bavarian economy takes on Söder

Created: 01/12/2022, 3:04 PM

Wind power plant in Neuhof near Bayreuth in Creußen: The Bavarian economy is concerned about the security of the energy supply and demands a rapid expansion of wind power.

© Daniel Karmann / dpa

The expansion of wind energy in Bavaria has stalled.

Critics point to the tough requirements in the Free State.

Now the Bavarian economy is also calling on the state government to relax.

Munich - The Association of Bavarian Business (vbw) is taking a stand against the 10H distance rule for wind turbines in Bavaria.

"Unfortunately, we have to find out that the 10H regulation was a failure, so we no longer need it," said vbw Managing Director Bertram Brossardt on Wednesday in Munich.

According to the 10H rule, the distance between a wind turbine must generally be at least ten times the overall height - with a rotor height of 200 meters, this corresponds to two kilometers.

The regulation, which goes back to ex-Prime Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU), has brought the expansion of wind energy in Bavaria to a virtual standstill.

Wind power expansion: pressure on CSU is growing

In view of the regulation, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) announced * that he would like to talk to the state government about a rule change.

Now the Bavarian economy is also going on a confrontational course.

The public conflict that has been fought is unusual.

The vbw traditionally maintains close relationships with the CSU, Brossardt calls the former Minister of Economics Otto Wiesheu his "foster father".

For his part, CSU General Secretary Markus Blume had only emphasized the day before that the 10H rule should not be shaken.

Prognos study: network expansion in the Free State is lagging behind

According to the energy transition monitoring by vbw, the energy transition in Bavaria is still lagging behind the political goals in several areas, in particular when it comes to network expansion.

The annual study is prepared by the Basel Prognos Institute.

At the end of this year, the last German nuclear power plants are to be shut down, including Isar II near Landshut.

The issue of security of supply is particularly important for Bavaria, as domestic electricity generation no longer meets demand.

The construction of the planned two large power lines "Südlink" and "Südostlink" from Schleswig-Holstein and Saxony-Anhalt to Bavaria, however, has been severely delayed.

"When it comes to security of supply, we are really in a very, very critical assessment when it comes to the issue of networks," said study author Almut Kirchner.

That is why the vbw also favors the expansion of wind power.

"The energy transition will not succeed without unreasonable demands and interventions in our landscape," said Brossardt.

Expert: The renovation of the building heating shows the "full extent of misery"

According to Prognos, there has been only minimal progress in converting the building heating system - an important factor in greenhouse gas emissions - in Bavaria and in Germany as a whole.

In this area shows the "full extent of misery," said Kirchner.

According to this, old oil and gas heating systems have so far only been replaced in a few buildings, and the situation is not much better in new buildings either: "Essentially, gas heating systems are being added," said the physicist, who heads the energy and climate protection division at the consulting firm.

Brossardt complained that there had been political announcements about the energy transition for 20 years.

“But we haven't made any progress with the making.”