Dreaded military radar restrictions for wind farms 'back from the dead and even more dangerous'

A rule axed two years ago that would give the German military the right to veto turbines within 50 kilometres of military radars has resurfaced in a new draft bill in almost identical form.

The new rule now included in a proposal for the Bundeswehr Planning and Procurement Acceleration Act (BwPBBG) could ‘torpedo’ advances for the sector made in recent years, the country’s wind energy federation (BWE) warned, and create new obstacles for onshore wind.

Following criticism from the BWE, the German Army had promised at the time to substantiate its position with a robust study before pursuing the issue further.

A study was commissioned, with results originally scheduled for November 2024, but those are still not available.

“It seems that the intention is to create facts before the results are known,” BWE president Bärbel Heidebroek said.

“The amendment to Section 18a of the German Air Traffic Act, which was rightly buried in 2023, has risen from the dead and, with a new, vaguely defined addition, is even more dangerous for the expansion of wind energy.

“Wrapping this amendment in a law to accelerate the process is misleading. The cards should be on the table.”

The draft bill contradicts the accelerated approval process for wind power and other renewables in accordance with the EU’s RED III directive, which Germany's parliament is slated to pass this week.

“There is a significant risk that the positive development of wind energy in recent years will be torpedoed,” Heidebroek said.

Eased permitting rules – which before the RED III directive is passed into national law were part of EU emergency regulations – prompted a great acceleration of bureaucratic processes and permitting. That led to 14GW of new wind power projects approved in Germany last year, and another 4GW just in the first quarter of this year alone, which are now increasingly translating into orders.

Blocking wind farms at great distances around Germany’s 18 military radars could, in theory, block a third of the country’s territory for wind power, the BWE warned in 2023.

A section of the proposed rule stipulates that no structures may be erected if they could impair air traffic control facilities or so-called stationary military air defence facilities.

There is a lack of a clear definition of the term ‘air defence facilities’, the BWE criticised, adding that this represents an unscientific shift in the burden of proof to the detriment of wind energy.

Air defence radars are already adequately protected by the German Federal Building Code (BauGB) within the framework of the assessment of public interests, the wind lobby said.

"Without the results of the study, this regulation lacks a scientific basis. There is a risk that projects will be rejected based on assumptions. This is inappropriate," Heidebroek said.