Shortly before Habeck's wind power lecture for Söder: Surprising 10-hour announcement from Munich

Created: 2022-01-20 05:11

By: Jonas Raab

Green boss Robert Habeck comes to Bavaria to persuade Markus Söder to abandon the 10-H rule.

© picture alliance/dpa |

Michael Kappeler

Climate Protection Minister Habeck wants to persuade Söder to turn away from the 10-H.

Shortly before the crisis meeting on Thursday, Aiwanger makes people sit up and take notice.

The news ticker.

• Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens*) wants to massively expand renewable energies.

• Because Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder* is opposed to wind power, Habeck is looking for dialogue.

• Shortly before Habeck's visit to Bavaria, Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger also spoke up.

Munich – The Greens are going on a crisis tour: Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has barely returned from Ukraine and Russia when Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck has to go – to Bavaria.

Because Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder is opposed to wind power and continues to insist on the controversial 10-hour rule *, Habeck announced last week that he would go to Bavaria "very quickly".

This was preceded by Habeck's big climate protection announcement*.

Because the climate targets were missed last year, the Vice Chancellor announced new laws and the expansion of renewable energies on January 11th - and called for the 10-H rule to be abandoned in Bavaria.

Wind power: Habeck meets with Söder and Aiwanger for a crisis talk in Bavaria

It stipulates a minimum wind turbine distance of at least 10 times its height to the next settlement, which makes construction in the Free State very difficult.

The immediate reaction from Bavaria: "The 10-hour rule will not be shaken," announced Markus Blume.

The Bavarian regulation on wind power ensures acceptance and ensures citizen participation, explained the CSU general secretary.

Exactly one week after Habeck's announcement*, the time has come: On Thursday (January 20), the Greens boss will meet with Prime Minister Söder and the Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger (free voters).

The latter made people sit up and take notice shortly before the meeting.

Green boss Habeck visits Söder: Aiwanger speaks up with a 10-hour announcement

Shortly before Habeck's visit to Bavaria, Aiwanger (free voters) questioned the controversial distance rule. "It doesn't always have to be 10-H, often a distance of 1200 to 1500 meters is enough," Aiwanger told the

Aiwanger pleaded for exceptions: "There are various options that the population can live with." Where the municipalities and regional planning associations have already designated wind priority areas or where wind turbines are already in place, it is possible to deviate from 10-H. Then “very quickly” large areas would be available for wind power.

Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) had recently defended the regulation – but there were also other tones from Bavaria *.

Habeck's plan to make two percent of the area available for wind power, however, also causes resentment in Aiwanger.

"A rigid target of two percent based only on wind energy is arbitrary and technically wrong," he told the newspaper.

Aiwanger also criticized what he believed to be insufficiently market-oriented approach to Habeck's climate protection program: "Planned economy will not lead us to climate neutrality."

10-H rule in Bavaria: Shortly before Habeck's visit to Bavaria, Söder's wind power policy is "on the zero point"

Habeck's visit is even more explosive because it became known at the beginning of the week that Söder's wind power policy had "point to zero"*.

With these words, the energy policy spokesman for the Greens in the state parliament, Martin Stümpfig, commented on figures from the previous year: For the first time since the introduction of the controversial 10H distance rule, no applications for approval for new wind turbines were made in Bavaria in the first three quarters of 2021.

In the dispute over the expansion of wind energy, the Bund Naturschutz in Bayern (BN) has again called for a move away from the controversial distance regulation for wind turbines in Bavaria.

"For a stable and at the same time sustainable power supply in winter, we need a strong expansion of wind power in Bavaria," said Chairman Richard Mergner on Wednesday (January 19) in Munich.

In the

interview, Mergner also emphasized that 6,000 to 10,000 new wind turbines would be needed in Bavaria for climate neutrality – and Söder banged an old wind power statement around his ears*.