It was traditionally the region most hostile to the multiplication of wind turbines on its territory: Bavaria, first in the class among the German Länder on many subjects, is one of the worst ranked in the development of energy from the wind. . It is also one of the most dependent on gas and nuclear for its electricity production.
It’s normal, local politicians have long argued, in southern Germany, the wind blows less than in the north. But the responsibility lies above all with a local regulation without equivalent across the Rhine, which since 2014 has almost stopped the development of wind power in rich and industrialized Bavaria: according to the so-called “10H” rule, a wind turbine could only be erected ‘at a distance ten times greater than its height from dwellings, which generally means more than two kilometres. The region is known for its highly organized protest movements against the erection of the masts, notoriously supported by the ruling Conservative Party (CSU).
Here it is forced to change: according to the federal law on onshore wind power, in force since 1er February 2023, Bavaria must devote 1.1% of its territory to wind energy within five years, then 1.8% in ten years. For wind turbines located inside these priority zones, there will no longer be any minimum distance rule. How will the new settlement projects be received in the regions where they have been the most opposed?
However, the tide may have turned in Bavaria. Since the war in Ukraine and the end of Russian gas, politicians have hesitated. The region has already relaxed the “10H” rule. The debate on the beauty of landscapes has been followed by a worried questioning, particularly in economic circles, on the future competitiveness of industrial sites, if they are poorly endowed with green energy. The Bavarians have noticed that the last major establishments of foreign high-tech companies across the Rhine (Tesla, Intel, Northvolt) were made in places where electricity from renewable sources was abundant: in the north and east . Something to make the first of the class think.