Citizens' dialogue in Niedersfeld: Design the energy transition together!

Citizens' dialogue in Niedersfeld: Design the energy transition together!

Around 200 citizens came together in Niedersfeld for the “Winterberger Weg” citizens' dialogue last weekend to find out about the future of wind power and the energy transition in their region. The city of Winterberg and Stadtwerke Winterberg organized the event, on which Mayor Michael Beckmann addressed critical points to implement the energy transition.

Beckmann made it clear that the municipalities have no influence on the designation of wind power areas. Around four percent of the urban area have currently been declared wind energy areas, with four of these areas already being awarded to external investors. In order to keep control of the remaining areas, the city plans to manage it via the newly founded Stadtwerke Winterberg Energent GmbH (SWE).

sustainable citizen participation

A central concern of the dialogue was to actively involve the citizens in the process and give them the opportunity to invest themselves. Here, lease offers are to be submitted to the owners of the available wind turbines. The Bürger-Energie Foundation, which was presented during Reinhard Piepenbrock's dialogue, aims to reinvest the yields from wind energy into the local infrastructure and the community. This long -term strategy could help increase acceptance for local energy projects.

The promotion of citizen participation has proven to be necessary to increase social acceptance for the energy transition. The results of the “Rewa” project show that municipalities play a crucial role in the implementation of projects for renewable energies. It was found that targeted communication measures and opportunities for participation are essential for citizens to avoid conflicts in connection with local projects and to secure the added value on site.

participation models and transparency

Financial participation models are offered through a citizens' energy cooperative that should enable citizens to participate in the income from wind power. This could also increase procedural and distribution justice by creating low-threshold access to financial participation offers. Citizens should not only be passive recipients of energy, but are also actively becoming actors in the energy transition.

Mayor Beckmann announced that the city will continue to openly inform about all developments in connection with the "Winterberger Weg". This transparency is an important step to gain the trust of the population and to secure acceptance for future projects. Further information is available on the website www.winterbergerweg.de

The experiences from recent years show that participation and clear communication not only increase the acceptance of citizens, but can also serve as a motivating momentum for further climate protection activities. This is particularly important because the success of the energy transition is in the hands of the municipalities, which can generate additional income through their own operating space and include the citizens in the design of their energy future.

The future of wind power in Winterberg could not only be a step in the right direction for the energy transition, but also represent a model for other municipalities that are striving for similar participation processes.