Habeck wants to “dismantle hurdles”: now the wind power turbo is to be ignited

Habeck wants to “remove hurdles”
Now the wind power turbo is to be ignited

The expansion of wind power is already increasing, especially in the north and west. However, Germany’s current efforts are far from sufficient to cover future electricity requirements with e-cars, heat pumps and the like. Minister Habeck is now pushing the pace.

Federal Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck wants to push the construction of wind turbines on land even more. To this end, the Greens politician presented a new “onshore wind energy strategy” in Berlin. This should work, among other things, by providing more space for wind turbines, through more targeted recruitment of skilled workers and simpler and faster approval processes. Habeck also discussed the project with around a hundred representatives from the federal, state and energy sectors at the second so-called wind summit. Some of the measures are already being implemented, while others are on Habeck’s list of projects.

Habeck described onshore wind energy as the key to energy supply. There are already positive signals when it comes to the construction of wind turbines and permits: Last year, for example, an additional output of 2.1 gigawatts was created, which is 30 percent more than in the previous year. In the current year, a new capacity of almost 900 megawatts was created by April, which is about half of the total increase in the previous year. “We’re turning the tanker back on course, so to speak.”

With the new strategy, many more parameters have been worked out, explained Habeck. “Since we need more than a quadrupling of the current expansion, we also want to remove the remaining hurdles and obstacles.” For example, it was agreed with the Federal Ministry of Transport that permits for the complex transport of wind turbines should be granted more easily and quickly.

Lack of staff in authorities is a “limiting factor”

The chairman of the Energy Ministers’ Conference of the federal states, Saxony-Anhalt’s department head Armin Willingmann, praised the development of the strategy. In view of the large number of existing regulations, for example on species protection while giving priority to the expansion of renewables, he warned of clear guidelines for the approval authorities from the Federal Ministry of Economics: “We need guidelines, we need information, implementation instructions.” In addition, a lack of staff in the authorities is “an important limiting factor”. He also called for rules on the possibility of economic participation in wind power projects for the population: “The energy ministers wanted a nationwide regulation at this point.” In addition, the domestic wind power industry must be strengthened.

Kerstin Andreae, head of the executive board of the Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), made a similar statement: She called for “more staff, less bureaucracy, greater digitization”. Lengthy approval procedures and the associated uncertainties are one of the major issues for wind turbine manufacturers. In addition to the expansion of renewables, the energy transition also requires the expansion of energy networks. “In order to achieve the expansion targets set for 2030, we need to triple the expansion speed.”

South is still a “total failure”

The expansion of renewable energies from wind and sun plays a key role in the federal government’s strategy to achieve climate goals and become less dependent on fossil energies such as coal and gas. According to the plans of the federal government, 80 percent of the electricity should come from renewable energies in 2030, currently it is about half. The demand for electricity is likely to increase enormously, due to millions of electric cars and heat pumps.

The President of the Federal Association of Wind Energy, Bärbel Heidebroek, was also pleased with the growing pace of expansion of wind power on land. But she complained: “But this is largely supported by three federal states, Lower Saxony, Schleswig Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia, while the south has so far actually been a total failure.”

Members of the IG Metall trade union and employees of the Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas demonstrated in front of the ministry on Tuesday for better working conditions in the wind industry. According to industry sources, the wind industry has lost around 50,000 jobs over the past few years. The IG Metall called for a higher collective agreement in the industry.

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