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Söders Mär about photovoltaic country Bavaria: Alarmed network operators

2023-02-11T06:22:09.010Z


The future of power generation is called renewable energies. In Bavaria, however, bureaucratic hurdles and the outdated network are slowing down the expansion.


The future of power generation is called renewable energies.

In Bavaria, however, bureaucratic hurdles and the outdated network are slowing down the expansion.

Munich – The fact that Germany urgently needs a new electricity mix has not only been clear since the Ukraine war and the end of Russian gas.

In terms of climate protection in particular, there is a need to expand renewable energies.

This has been extremely difficult in Bavaria in recent years, especially in the wind power sector.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) never tires of portraying the Free State as an absolute master of expansion.

But that is only half the truth.

The Bavarian grid groans under the massive expansion of photovoltaic systems

Sure, Bavaria is in a good position when it comes to expanding photovoltaic systems.

But Sunstream Free State has a problem.

Apparently the network is not designed for that many systems.

Network operators, for example, speak of "Bavaria-wide network bottlenecks" at BR.

The reason is the gradual expansion.

The Swabian grid operator LEW Verteilnetz says it would need three times the amount of photovoltaics that is currently on the grid in order to achieve the climate targets that have been set.

But there was only seven years left for that.

2030 is the reference year.

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However, the approval procedures for the network expansion in Bavaria would already take seven years, according to Netze ODR in the Nördlinger Ries (Donau-Ries district) of the BR.

Strengthening the lines would be a short-term solution, according to Technical Director Sebastian Maier.

But there are problems here too.

In principle, the masts would already be in place.

And new cables could also be pulled quickly there.

But bureaucratic hurdles and civil protests would repeatedly delay such an expansion.

Example: At the sister company Netze BW, they had to wait two and a half years for a court date at the Higher Regional Court in Mannheim before an objection from a citizens' initiative was dealt with.

"The appointment then lasted an hour," says Sebastian Maier.

The objection was dismissed.

(By the way: Our Bayern newsletter informs you about all the important stories from Bavaria. Register here.)

Old technology and lengthy approval procedures are slowing down expansion

And that's how it can happen to someone like Axel Günthner from Oettingen in the district of Donau-Ries, who would have liked to have built a 300 kW photovoltaic system on the roof of his iron and sanitary wholesale trade.

However, Netze ODR had to turn him down.

Reason: The power grid in the region is already busy.

"I think it'll knock me out," was his first reaction to the cancellation, he revealed to BR.

Such bottlenecks do not only occur in Swabia.

According to N-energie Netz GmbH in Nuremberg, the capacities in the company's power grid are "largely exhausted" when there is a lot of sunshine.

And even if you could finally build or renovate, as in the case of Netze ODR, you often have to use outdated technology.

"Today we would no longer build with a single-wire system, but with a double-wire system, i.e. two cables next to each other and could thus transmit twice the power," says Maier.

But you would have to start the approval process all over again.

Maier fears that this could take another seven years.

"That means I'm now expanding with the outdated technology."

The government seems to have recognized the problem and is increasing the number of permitting agencies.

100 new employees are to speed up the process.

Whether that's enough remains to be seen.

Maier says to the BR: "We have to move away from 'speed bureaucracy' and towards 'doer speed'." The duration of the approval process must be halved.

Bavaria is Germany's problem child when it comes to expanding wind energy

Another problem that immediately catches the eye in Söder's graphic is the expansion of wind energy.

A total of 14 new wind turbines were installed in Bavaria last year.

Nationwide there were 551. Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg had installed particularly little new capacity in relation to their state area, said the President of the Federal Wind Energy Association, Hermann Albers.

And Söder also has to listen to criticism from the opposition in the state parliament.

Martin Stümpfig, an energy expert from the Greens in the state parliament, criticized that Bavaria is increasingly becoming Germany's number one problem child when it comes to wind energy.

In relation to its large area, the country should actually do a lot more, he emphasized.

One of the reasons for the hesitant expansion is the 10H distance rule that still applies in Bavaria.

Although this was relaxed last year, only 25 systems are in the pipeline for this year - i.e. applied for and not yet approved.

So it will probably be a while before the more than 500 to 1000 wind turbines that Söder had announced in various speeches will be installed.

In fact, when it comes to the total number of wind turbines in terms of area, Bavaria is in last place of all German non-city states, with a cumulative output of just 37 kilowatts per square kilometer - the national average is 162. (tel with dpa

)

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Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-02-11

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