Bavaria leads Germany in renewables development despite opposition to wind farms

German federal state of Bavaria continues to lead the way in development of renewable energy in Germany. According to data from the German network regulator for 2023. The state achieved its leading position despite building almost no wind farms.

According to data from the German network regulator (BNetzA), power plants with a total installed capacity of approximately 3 682 MW were added in Bavaria last year. This is a net increase, after taking decommissioned power plants into account.

Across Germany as a whole, this represents one fifth of all newly installed renewable energy capacity. Bavaria was followed by North Rhine-Westphalia (2 586 MW), Baden-Württemberg (1 946 MW) and Lower Saxony (1 911 MW).

Almost 99% of the newly installed renewable capacity in Bavaria came from solar power plants. Wind farms, by contrast, are rarely built in Bavaria. Just 23 MW were added last year, placing Bavaria twelfth among Germany’s federal states.

Schleswig-Holstein, for example, added 1 109 MW of new net installed capacity from onshore wind farms last year, followed by Lower Saxony (483 MW) and North Rhine-Westphalia (413 MW).

Bavaria, Germany’s largest federal state by area, has approximately 27 GW of installed renewable energy capacity.  83% of this is solar power, with 940 000 installations. Wind farms account for just under 10% and biomass for approximately 7%. By comparison, the Czech Republic, which is similar to Bavaria in both area and population, has roughly one tenth of its installed renewable capacity.

Bavaria is repeatedly criticized for its restrictive policy on wind power development and its lack of ambition in the transition to renewable energy. In 2014, the state introduced the so-called 10H rule, which allows wind farms to be built only at a distance of more than ten times the turbine’s height from the nearest homes. Modern wind turbines are more than 200 metres tall. Since the rule was introduced, wind farm construction in Bavaria has virtually ground to a halt.

Germany aims to meet 80% of its electricity consumption with renewable energy by 2030. Last year, renewables for the first time covered more than half of Germany’s electricity consumption.