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There needs to be more wind turbines. In North Rhine-Westphalia, a law will come into force on January 1, 2024 that is intended to break resistance to the systems. Citizens should receive money.
Hamm – Wind power is a central component of the energy transition in Germany. More wind turbines need to be built, and quickly. However, many people’s understanding ends when one of these is about to be built in their neighborhood. They fear infrasound, shadows, a broken view – and are taking them to court. The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia now wants to break resistance to wind turbines by law – with money directly for citizens.
Citizens’ Energy Act: This is how residents in North Rhine-Westphalia benefit from new wind turbines
With the “Citizen Energy Act NRW” (officially: law on the participation of citizens and communities in the use of wind energy in North Rhine-Westphalia), which was passed in the state parliament on December 15, 2023 and comes into force on January 1, 2024, the black-green state government to financially involve operators of wind power plants, citizens and municipalities. Anyone who builds a new wind energy system in North Rhine-Westphalia or completely renovates a system (“repowering”) will have to share in the profits with residents and surrounding communities in the future.
“The purpose of this law is to achieve the greatest possible degree of acceptance and participation through the financial participation of citizens and communities in the construction and operation of new wind turbines,” said the draft law now passed by the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs and Industry , climate protection and energy. In other words: You get money, but you stop complaining.
If a city has more money, that is generally good for all residents. However, the law is also interesting for individual citizens. Things get interesting for them in paragraph 7, paragraph 3. It mentions “flat-rate benefits for a defined group of residents” as a possibility for financial participation.
Citizens’ Energy Act NRW: Earn money instead of going to court
Anyone who is already dreaming of big money should know: Financial participation is only mandatory for wind turbines that have not yet been built or approved. Neighbors of old systems do not benefit from the new law. In October, the NRW state building regulations were changed – with tightening of the gravel garden ban.
Wind turbines provide environmentally friendly electricity, but are not welcome. In North Rhine-Westphalia, operators will have to involve cities and citizens in the future. © Julian Stratenschulte/dpa/Symbolbild
The new law in North Rhine-Westphalia establishes an obligation for project sponsors to directly or indirectly share in the revenue for residents and communities in the immediate vicinity of wind energy projects. In their controversial amendment, the government factions have defined a wide range of options: This ranges from participation in the project company or even the purchase of a wind turbine, to reduced local electricity tariffs or flat-rate payments to a defined group of residents, to the financing of charitable foundations or associations .
The NRW Citizens’ Energy Act comes into force on January 1, 2024
If the provider does not fulfill its obligations or does not fulfill them sufficiently, it must pay a compensatory levy of 0.8 cents per kilowatt hour to the municipalities entitled to participate, provided that they submit a corresponding application.
The law was supposed to be passed on December 13th, but there was strong opposition from the opposition. The FDP parliamentary group leader Henning Höne tried to prevent the law from being passed on the last plenary day of this year by submitting an urgent application to the state constitutional court. In his view, the government factions submitted their twelve-page amendment too quickly to be able to properly discuss the proposed law. However, the court did not follow his request, so the law passed the state parliament in third reading – two days later than originally planned.
In order to promote the expansion of wind turbines, the state parliament abolished the general 1000 meter minimum distance between wind turbines and residential areas at the end of August. Residents from Ahlen in Münsterland feel betrayed because of this – there is resistance.
2023-12-16 12:38:55
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