Bavaria has stopped building wind turbines, Poland follows suit

The German state of Bavaria, which introduced a rule at the end of 2014 to restrict the construction of wind turbines, recorded no applications to build a wind turbine in the first quarter of this year. According to unofficial information, this was also the case in the second quarter.

Experience with Bavaria’s „10H“ rule shows that it represents a fundamental restriction on the possibilities for where wind power plants can be built. While 187 new wind turbines were approved in the whole of 2014, this number has fallen sharply since the new legislation was adopted.

Over the whole of 2015, the construction of 65 turbines was approved in Germany’s largest federal state, with only one third approved after the new rules took effect. This is also demonstrated by the fact that only 8 new turbines were approved in the third quarter and just five in the fourth.

The „10H“ rule: Under this rule, the distance between a wind turbine and the nearest dwelling must be at least ten times the height of the turbine. In practice, this means a radius of around 1.5 km for new wind turbines.

The decline in new wind turbine permits only stopped at the beginning of this year, when it reached zero. Not a single wind power plant was approved in the first three months. According to unofficial information, the situation was similar in the second quarter of this year.

Germany’s efforts, however, are different. The construction of wind power plants is to be restricted more significantly in the northern part of the country, from where it is not possible to transmit power to consumption centres at high output levels. New plants are to be built primarily in the south, where the last nuclear power plants are scheduled to be shut down in 2021 and 2022.

Poland also introduces the 10H rule

New legislation that also introduces the 10H rule has been adopted in Poland, where it has already been signed by the Polish president. The newly introduced rules for wind turbines go even further than in Bavaria. The 10H rule is supplemented by higher property tax and a fee-based audit every two years.

The Polish wind power market had been described as one of the most promising in Europe, but conditions have now changed in favour of protecting the coal industry. Czech energy group ČEZ had also planned investments in Poland, with 15 wind turbines planned in the country. As a result, ČEZ faces the risk of writing off its investments.