Wind power expansion faces political hurdles in NRW

The new governing coalition of conservative CDU and economic liberal FDP in Germany's most populous federal state North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) seems intent on curbing wind power expansion but is hit by resistance from the job-creating industry, Guido M. Hartmann writes in Welt am Sonntag. The coalition agreement says new installations had to maintain a distance of at least 1,500 metres to residential areas. Renewable energy advocates fear that this could severely damage an industry employing about 19,000 people in the state, he writes. NRW’s new government assures that “there will be further expansion” but German wind turbine market leader Enercon calls the policy “myopic”. Utility innogy board member Hans Bünting says “we’d like to keep investing” in wind power in NRW, but the new rules seemed to make implementation of many planned projects impossible. 

Read the article in German here.

For background, read the CLEW dossier Onshore wind power in Germany.