Bavarian residents set to receive financial compensation for nearby wind farms

Bavaria’s Minister for Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger has called on the federal government to introduce laws that would give local residents living near wind farms a share of their revenue.

German court rules in favour of including residents in wind farm projects

Last Thursday, the German Constitutional Court ruled in favour of regulations that would make it mandatory for wind farm operators to involve local residents and municipalities in wind farm projects, and allow them to receive financial compensation.

The Bavarian Minister for Economic Affairs, Hubert Aiwanger, has since called on the federal government to introduce such regulations. “I expect the federal government to promptly pass a law that regulates the participation of wind power for residents in a mandatory manner and, if possible, uniformly throughout Germany,” he told reporters. Aiwanger added that, instead of the 0,2 cents per kilowatt-hour, municipalities around the country should receive 0,4 cents.

Aiwanger argued that giving municipalities and residents living near wind farms a share of the revenues would incentivise people to accept the turbines. “We need the acceptance of local authorities in the further development of regional wind power plants and the acceptance of local residents,” he said, emphasising the need for more wind power to bolster the country's supply of energy.

A nationwide wind farm scheme

Aiwanger highlighted the importance for laws to be implemented across the whole country and warned that if they did not, individual states might introduce the regulations themselves. “If nothing comes from the federal government in a timely manner, we in Bavaria will have to take action ourselves,” said Aiwanger. He warned that if states set their own regulations, it could lead to wind energy becoming more profitable for investors and operators in certain states, and less in others.

The state premier of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Manuela Schwesig (SPD), also called for the government to “now, very quickly and finally introduce this obligation to involve local people nationwide.”