As of: January 22, 2024, 9:36 a.m
By: Christian Fellner, Josef Hornsteiner
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The wind turbines are to be built here on the Thörlen on the Eibsee: This design was presented to the citizens during the information evening in Ehrwald.
I grew up here and can assure you that there is far too little wind there.
Stephan Märkl, Mayor of Grainau © private
A wind farm initiative in Tyrol right on the border is met with criticism.
The plan is to have 130-meter-high wind turbines in good visibility of the tourist magnet Eibsee.
There will be a referendum in Ehrwald soon.
Ehrwald/Grainau – At first the whole thing sounded like an April Fool’s joke to Andreas Augscheller.
“But it's too early in January for such a report.” So these plans for wind turbines high above Lake Eibsee, which made the rounds last week, had to be serious.
“An insane plan,” says the Grainauer.
What is not only horrifying the Grainau PWG local council: In fact, the company “Im Wind” from St. Pölten in Lower Austria has such a wind farm project in mind right on the state border.
Last Monday, around 250 people got an idea of the planned project at an information event in the Tyrolean neighboring town of Ehrwald.
Eleven wind turbines with a hub height of around 130 meters are to be built in the “Auf den Thörlen” local recreation area.
The ridge on the north side of which the terrain slopes steeply down to the Eibsee.
The estimated total costs are around 110 million euros.
An area of 80,000 square meters would have to be cut down to achieve this, writes the Ehrwald municipal council group “Zukunft Ehrwald” in a statement.
They would be Tyrol's first wind turbines
There is not a single wind turbine in Tyrol yet.
However, this type of energy use is being pushed politically.
Despite all the concerns about nature, according to an estimate by the local administration, around 40 percent were apparently in favor of implementing the project at the information meeting.
As a next step, Ehrwald's mayor Markus Köck (Ehrwald Eins-Eins) wants to start a citizen survey.
Of course, there is already resistance to the project in the village.
But Köck defended his open approach to it to the meinbezirk.at portal: “If I had shut it down, I would have been accused of not wanting to discuss new technologies.”
He speaks of a vicious circle.
Therefore, a date should be discussed in the next local council.
Augscheller hopes that the neighbors will reason.
“We can only hope that the citizens of Ehrwald vote wisely and prevent such madness in this unique, exposed location.” Mayor Stephan Märkl (CSU) is also almost speechless.
He only found out about the project last week from a concerned Ehrwald citizen on the phone.
“Personally, I’m against it,” he says clearly.
In any case, he doesn't understand why this location should be considered.
“I grew up here and can assure you that there is far too little wind there.” Märkl does not understand why this fact should be different just a few kilometers further above the national border.
According to German guidelines, what is generally required is an average wind speed of at least five meters per second, which corresponds to 18 kilometers per hour, at a height of 130 meters.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen district is currently an exclusion region for wind power projects
As is well known, the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district has so far been an exclusion region for wind power projects.
The Bavarian State Government's energy atlas still shows almost exclusively red markings in the higher altitudes.
A few spots are yellow.
By definition, this means that these areas would theoretically be “suitable for the use of wind energy in individual cases”, but “must be treated sensitively”.
But the government also adds in the explanations: “This may conflict with nature and pollution control concerns.” Surprising: On the Austrian side, there is a study from 2011 that shows that the border region with Germany in the Ehrwald-Zugspitze area is one of few options in Tyrol.
Wind measurements are currently being promoted in Tyrol.
How will things continue?
Stephan Scharf, press spokesman in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district office, points out: “The political winds are changing.” This means: The government also wants to expand wind power areas in Germany and obliges the regions to designate areas.
District Administrator Anton Speer, who is also the second chairman of the responsible planning region 17, recently emphasized to the Tagblatt that the status as an exclusion area is unlikely to be shaken in the near future.
The first conceivable areas are located west of Schongau – outside the district.
If approved, the wind farm would be built in about ten years
The people of Grainau are relying on this, as they would like to avoid such a sight over their Eibsee.
At least Christoph Bruny, project manager for the “ImWind” company, affirms that we are still at the very beginning.
The wind farm would only go into operation in ten years – if the municipality of Ehrwald agrees.
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It is doubtful whether the Bavarian side would have a say in an emergency.
“We haven’t thought about that yet,” says Märkl.
First he would like to wait for the Ehrwald referendum.
Just like Augscheller: “The community of Grainau will certainly make a contribution as a neighbor to prevent something like this from happening.” Märkl is also convinced: “I don’t think it will happen.”