Wind power expansion in the district of Euskirchen: Citizens' initiative raises the alarm!

Wind power expansion in the district of Euskirchen: Citizens' initiative raises the alarm!

Window venue in the district of Euskirchen is the focus of the current regional discussions. The regional council at the Cologne district government recently presented a plan to set up wind energy systems, which sets the zones for possible wind turbines. This step takes place as part of the Wind-am-Land Act, which came into force on February 1, 2023 and provides an accelerated approval process in order to achieve the climate goals by 2045. In the coming days, municipalities, associations and citizens can submit comments on the plan until February 13, such as ksta.de

The plan stipulates that 2.13 percent of the total area in North Rhine-Westphalia is provided for wind use. 4304 hectares are planned for the district of Euskirchen, which corresponds to 3.45 percent of the circular area. These zones are to be guaranteed in order to simplify the approval process for the construction of wind turbines.

concerns and resistance

The established “headwind in Bad Münstereifel” has sharply criticized the expansion of wind energy. In their view, there are both ecological and economic concerns about the planned expansion. The initiative has already identified areas in several municipalities that are to be converted into wind industrial areas. In addition, many municipalities are concerned about the loss of say in the approval of wind turbines.

An unequal distribution of the space for wind energy in the Cologne region also causes discussions. The regional council has emphasized that the consultations about the factual sub -plan should continue to be renewable energies with the aim of completing the procedure by autumn 2025.

climate goals and legal framework conditions

The urgent need for an accelerated expansion of renewable energies is part of the national climate goals that want to achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045. The wind-to-land law defines nationwide targets to promote the expansion of wind energy. In recent years, however, only 0.8 percent of the country area for wind turbines have been shown, of which only 0.5 percent are available. This illustrates the need for action, such as Bezreg-koeln. explained.

In addition, the NRW state parliament recently decided to suspend the approval of wind turbines outside the areas already specified for six months. There are currently 102 applications for wind turbines with a total output of 20.24 megawatts in the district of Euskirchen.

The debate about the expansion of wind power and the fair access to areas will certainly continue to gain intensity in the coming weeks and months, since the regional council could make changes to the plan, which would result in a new open position.