Climate neutrality requires a rapid expansion of wind energy. By 2030, the installed capacity of onshore wind turbines must reach at least 80 GW; by the time climate neutrality is achieved in 2045, the figure must be as high as 145 GW.
However, the expansion of onshore wind energy has slumped in recent years. One of the main causes is the excessively long approval procedures, which in many cases now drag on for years.
The length of the procedures also often means that applications designed for specific types of turbines have to be completely re-submitted if the turbines applied for are no longer available or the applicant wishes to switch to more modern turbines. Without a fundamental reform of the approval law with a significant acceleration of the approval procedures, neither the expansion targets for wind energy nor the climate targets can be achieved.
In order to achieve a significant acceleration of the approval procedures, Climate Neutrality Foundation is proposing an Onshore Wind Energy Act (in German).
The approval procedures will be removed from the Federal Immission Control Act and transferred to a technology-specific approval regime adapted to the special features of onshore wind energy. They will be regulated in a separate law and streamlined in terms of time.
The proposal is based on a legal elaboration by the law firm von Bredow Valentin Herz (in German).