To the left and right of the Markweg, the three wind turbines will be erected. © Graphic: MM
It's about time and a lot of money is at stake: The municipalities of Otterfing, Sauerlach and Aying are hoping that their wind farm in the Hofoldinger Forest will be approved before the end of autumn. Otherwise, there is a risk of worse returns and further delays. This could happen, also because there is a lack of staff in the Munich District Office.
Otterfing/Sauerlach – The adventure of wind energy in the Hofoldinger Forest will be really exciting again in autumn. Martin Sterflinger, Managing Director of Windenergie Hofoldinger Forst GmbH, presented an interim report at the climate conference of the district of Munich in Taufkirchen – and it was linked to concerns.
Currently, the three shareholder municipalities of Aying, Otterfing and Sauerlach are waiting for the approval of the three wind turbines. In April, they submitted the Federal Immission Control Act application (BImSchG) to the Munich District Office, which is also in charge of the procedure for the Miesbach District Office. If everything goes according to plan, the wind farm can be built in 2024 and connected to the grid in 2025. "We hope to get the green light in September," Sterflinger said.
This would make it possible to apply for the feed-in tariff under the current EEG Act before the end of the autumn; this would be financially beneficial, because the remuneration may be reduced in 2024. In addition, the felling work in the forest could be commissioned and the three wind turbines ordered before the end of this year. If the approval is longer in coming, the construction of the wind turbines could be delayed by a year, according to Steflinger. He is concerned that there is currently a lack of staff in the immission control authority of the district office. "It's a big problem," Sterflinger said.
The wind turbines are supplied by the company Enercon, which had submitted the most economical offer. The turbines have a hub height of 167 meters, the rotors have a diameter of 160 meters. The forecast annual average output is 5.56 gigawatts. This means that the wind farm can supply 10,000 households with electricity.
The charm of the project lies in the citizen participation: the three plants cost a total of 21 million euros, 31 percent of which (6.5 million euros) is to be financed by equity. This means that citizens of the three municipalities can buy in with shares. Only 15 percent are supposed to cover loans. "The banks are very interested," said the managing director. The wind farm will generate a profit of 2.4 million euros in its first year of operation, Sterflinger calculated. According to estimates, those who subscribe to shares can expect annual returns in the mid-single-digit percentage range. The Hofoldinger Forest is large, further wind turbines are conceivable, said Sterflinger.
The three turbines are located along the Markweg, and each of the three municipalities is assigned a wind turbine. Originally, there were four wind turbines until the municipality of Brunnthal pulled out. The first plans began ten years ago; it was not until 2019 that the project was ready to be decided so that the municipalities were able to commission expert opinions - also with the support of the districts of Munich and Miesbach, which, however, did not join the GmbH.
In retrospect, the local politicians are proud of what they have achieved, as Sauerlach's mayor Barbara Bogner, who currently serves as chairwoman of the supervisory board of the GmbH, emphasizes. She remembers how investors once knocked on the door and wanted to build seven wind turbines – and up to 20 in the Hofoldinger Forest – on the Sauerlach corridor alone. "We didn't want strangers to push wind power in our field where we didn't want them to," Bogner said. That was the motivation to found a working group himself: "Now it will be a wind farm for local citizens."
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