The parties in the traffic light coalition have set a clear goal in their coalition agreement: two percent of the land area must be made available for wind turbines. The background is clear: this is the only way to massively increase the share of green energy, which is essential for climate protection. But setting goals alone is not enough. Rather, concrete implementation measures must also be taken. This is where the first difficulty becomes apparent: because the areas concerned must be designated by the federal states. However, most countries are still far behind the target. This shows a corresponding data collection by the German news agency. According to this data, only three countries come close to the target: Schleswig-Holstein, Hesse and Saarland. On the other hand, Baden-Württemberg with 0.2 percent designated areas and Saxony with 0.3 percent still have a lot to catch up on.
Distance rules make it difficult to build wind turbines
With figures like these, it should come as no surprise that the number of newly installed wind turbines is well below the target. In some cases, however, there seems to be a reconsideration. For example, in Bavaria for a long time there were very strict rules regarding the distance between wind turbines and residential buildings. As a result, only a meager six new wind turbines could be approved in the first nine months of last year. The energy transition cannot of course be achieved in this way. The state parliament has therefore now voted for a relaxation, which should make it possible to build 800 new factories. Other countries have also announced initiatives to further promote the expansion of wind energy. In theory, the federal government could also lift the waiver rules of the states with the help of a federal law. However, this could jeopardize the acceptance of enlargement at the local level. That is why the Environment Minister, Robert Habeck, has until now relied on cooperation with the federal states.
| Federal state | Percentage of designated areas |
|---|---|
| Schleswig-Holstein | 2.0 percent |
| Hesse | 1.9 percent |
| Saarland | 1.82 percent |
| Brandenburg | 1.4 percent |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 1.2 percent |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 1.08 percent |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 1.01 percent |
| Bremen | 1.0 percent |
| Bavaria | 0.69 percent |
| Thuringia | 0.4 percent |
| Hamburg | 0.23 percent |
| Saxony | 0.3 percent |
| Hamburg | 0.23 percent |
| Baden-Wurttemberg | 0.2 percent |
| Berlin | N/A |
| Lower Saxony | N/A |
Specialists are urgently needed
However, if huge amounts of new space are designated, the next problem may already come into the picture. Of course, the wind turbines also have to be built. However, there is currently a lack of the required skilled workers in the industry. This also has to do with the sins of the past. Because fewer and fewer wind turbines have been built in recent years, companies have also reduced their capacity. These are not so easy to rebuild. But here too it is the turn of politics. Because it must make it clear that the expansion is being carried out according to plan and thus provide the company with planning certainty. Otherwise, the federal government’s ambitious plans for green energy will probably not be realized. They want to increase the share of sustainable power supply to eighty percent by 2030. This value is currently only 42 percent.