Fragen und Antworten

Wind turbine construction is subject to extensive laws and regulations in Germany – particularly the German Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) and state and regional planning and permitting regulations. The goal of these laws and regulations is to protect both people and the environment while simultaneously pushing the energy transition forward.

The following setback distance guidelines apply to wind turbines in Baden-Württemberg:

• At least 500 meters from residential buildings in outer zones (Außenbereiche)
• At least 750 meters from residential and housing development areas (Siedlungs- und Wohngebieten)

These setback distances are not specifically required by law, but are instead the distances that usually result when applying emission control requirements – particularly in regard to noise and shadow flicker. In practice, they are used as guidelines for regional planning and by permitting authorities.

Sources:
Specialist agency for wind and solar energy: https://www.fachagentur-wind-solar.de/wind/genehmigung
Baden-Württemberg Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Energy Sector: https://um.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de/presse-service/publikation/did/leitfaden-genehmigungs-und-anzeigeverfahren-nach-dem-bundes-immissionsschutzgesetz/

In the long term, a stable 100% green power system without “base load plants” that run continuously can be implemented by expanding the use of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. In order for this to happen, certain prerequisites will need to be met: broadly distributed and diversified energy generation based on the use of various resources, progress with the expansion of the European grid, storage solutions designed to compensate for compound energy droughts, flexible grids, and intelligent load control. In short: When complemented with storage systems, increased flexibility, and grid integration, renewables can deliver power reliably without having to rely on conventional base load plants. This approach has been determined to be technologically feasible, and initial attempts to implement it are already underway (ülich Research Center 2022).

Achieving a high degree of energy independence will help improve our energy security, protect us from geopolitical contingencies (with imported gas being a good example), and stabilize prices in the long term. In addition, it will enable us to better steer the ship when it comes to climate protection and infrastructure development.

Definitely. Wind power is an important resource in the transition to environmentally friendlier energy production and delivery infrastructure. For starters, wind power does not produce any CO2 emissions during operation, not to mention that it is one of the types of energy with the lowest emissions throughout its entire lifecycle. As reported by the German Federal Statistical Office 31.5% of the electricity generated in Germany in 2024 came from wind power. That is the equivalent of 136 billion kWh of electricity, and made it possible to cut CO2 emissions by around 1 to 1.5 million metric tons that year (German Environment Agency 2021).

Protecting nature and biodiversity plays a key role when planning and erecting wind turbines. Among other things, this means that a comprehensive wildlife conservation assessment is required by law for every permitting project, with this assessment being based especially on the German Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG) and the requirements in the European Habitats Directive and Birds Directive.

The goal is to prevent tampering with existing ecosystems to the greatest extent possible or to keep such tampering to a minimum. Wherever this tampering cannot be completely avoided, targeted environmental compensation and replacement measures are used to compensate for the corresponding impact. More specifically, this involves the following:

• Wildlife conservation expert report: To provide these reports, independent experts conduct surveys of all relevant plant and animal species in the affected areas for several months. This makes it possible to select wind turbine sites in such a way as to ensure that habitats will be preserved and potential hazards will be reduced.
• Afforestation and land restoration: If a section of forest area is used for construction, it must be replaced with its environmental equivalent on a one-to-one basis at least. Afforestation in a different place and land restoration measures in the region are examples of how to achieve this.
• In-situ nature conservation measures: A number of measures are used to compensate for the loss of habitat, with examples including establishing new biotopes, planting hedges or bushes, and restoring bodies of water. In fact, these measures often even improve biodiversity in their surroundings.
• Accompanying environmental plan: The situation is monitored continuously even after the relevant wind turbines have been commissioned and gone online. To this end, monitoring programs are used to check how the surroundings respond to the various measures taken, making it possible to adjust course as needed in a targeted manner. The entire wind turbine construction process is continuously supervised and inspected by an independent environmental expert.

Source :
State Agency for Baden-Württemberg: https://www.lubw.baden-wuerttemberg.de/natur-und-landschaft/artenschutz-und-windkraft

In Germany, the expansion of wind power infrastructure is inextricably tied to forest conservation and to the principle of always using as little forest area as necessary. In concrete terms, this means that wind turbines are not erected in particularly valuable broadleaf or mixed forests, in nature conservation areas, or in protected biotopes.

Instead, turbines are erected in working forests, that is, in forests that are already being used to supply wood and other products. Even there, however, as little forest area as possible is used – this means that clearing is typically limited to small areas for a foundation, crane working area, and access road.

Pursuant to § 9 of the Forest Act of the State of Baden-Württemberg (LWaldG), the following applies (please note that the original text of the act is in German): “If forest is permanently converted to a different type of use, this intervention must be fully compensated for.” That means that for each cleared forest area, the developer must take measures to fully compensate for the impact of said clearing in environmental terms.

This compensation can take various forms:

• Afforesting appropriate areas in the region in such a way that the size of the afforested area(s) is at least equal to the size of the clearing
• Converting forests for climate mitigation purposes: In this case, monocultures are replaced with resilient mixed forests that are better at resisting climate change
• Environmental improvement measures, such as developing highly biodiverse forest edges, facilitating deadwood structures, and restoring sealed land areas to a seminatural state

All these measures need to be developed in close coordination with the relevant forest and nature conservation authorities and are an integral part of the permitting process.

Sources:
Forest Act of the State of Baden-Württemberg: https://www.landesrecht-bw.de/bsbw/document/jlr-WaldGBWrahmen
Baden-Württemberg State Forestry Administration: https://gewerbeaufsicht.baden-wuerttemberg.de/documents/20121/428654/Hinweise_zum_Bau_von_Windenergieanlagen_im_Wald.pdf

When building and operating wind turbines, enormous importance is attached to protecting animals and their habitats. In fact, comprehensive wildlife conservation surveys are conducted during the planning stage already, as these surveys are part of the permitting process required by the German Federal Nature Conservation Act.

A variety of targeted wildlife protection measures are used in order to minimize the potential impact of wind turbines:

• Smart curtailment
  Smart curtailment systems automatically shut down wind turbines as soon as they detect specific weather and temperature conditions under which bats are likely to be active. This reliably prevents collisions during the periods when bats are most active. Smart curtailment technology is the current state of the art and is used as standard.
• Taking bird-specific criteria into account when selecting sites
  Extensive mapping is conducted in the early stages of planning in order to identify breeding grounds, roosting sites, and stopover sites for especially endangered or protected bird species. Wind turbine sites are chosen in such a way as to avoid sensitive areas to the greatest extent possible.
• Deterrence systems
  Using high-contrast markings and patterns on rotor blades, or painting individual blades, can improve the visibility of wind turbines for many bird species. Initial studies show that this type of measure can reduce the risk of collision significantly.

All the aforementioned measures are documented as part of the “preventive measures” for a project and are an integral part of the corresponding environmental expert reports. Their effectiveness is checked on a regular basis and corresponding adjustments are made if necessary.

Sources:
State Agency for the Environment Baden-Württemberg: https://www.lubw.baden-wuerttemberg.de/natur-und-landschaft/artenschutz-und-windkraft

Based on the latest estimates from the German Wind Energy Association (BWE), the Working Group of German State Bird Conservancies (LAG VSW), and the German Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), around 100,000 birds are killed by collisions with wind turbines every year.

By comparison,

• Window collisions kill around 115 million birds every year
• Road traffic and rail traffic result in the death of up to 70 million birds every year
• House cats kill up to 60 million birds in Germany every year according to estimates from BWE, while NABU’s calculations yield a higher estimate of up to 200 million

These figures show that the amount of birds harmed by wind power is significantly smaller than the amount harmed by other human-made threats to birds. On top of that, targeted site selection and smart curtailment measures help minimize the risk of bird collisions.

Sources:
German Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union: https://www.nabu.de/tiere-und-pflanzen/voegel/gefaehrdungen/katzen/
German Wind Energy Association: https://www.wind-energie.de/themen/politische-arbeit/kampagne-zur-bundestagswahl-2021/windenergie-fuer-mehr-vielfalt/

No. Wind turbine construction and operation normally have zero negative effects on groundwater. The foundations used for these turbines are planned, designed, and built in such a way as to not have an impact on groundwater conditions.

A detailed foundation soil and hydrogeological impact assessment that analyzes the following in detail is conducted every time before a wind turbine is erected:

• The location and depth of any aquifers
• The directions in which water flows
• The soil’s permeability

These analyses are used as a basis to ensure that all groundwater protection requirements will be met. If required, additional structural protective steps are taken, with examples including waterproofed foundations and continuous monitoring during construction if there is groundwater close by.
These requirements are part of the legal requirements set forth in the German Federal Water Act (WHG) and are overseen by the responsible water authorities.

Sources:
Baden-Württemberg Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Energy Sector: https://um.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de/umwelt-natur/wasser/rechtsvorschriften/wassergesetz
German Federal Water Act: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/whg_2009/

Microplastics are plastic particles with a diameter of less than five millimeters. They arise in various ways, including as a result of abrasive wear on plastics in the environment due to friction, ultraviolet radiation, and mechanical stress, for example.
Environmental factors such as wind, rain, and UV radiation can also result in minor abrasive wear on wind turbine rotor blades. However, this abrasive wear is minimal and absolutely negligible in comparison to other sources.

By comparison,

• According to the German Environment Agency, around 100,000 metric tons of microplastics are produced every year in Germany as a result of car tire wear (2018)
• Estimates indicate that the amount of abraded plastic matter produced by all wind turbines in Germany together is multiples lower – less than 1,500 metric tons a year (2018)

In addition, the use of durable and recyclable materials is being increasingly incorporated into the production and maintenance of modern wind turbines. In fact, research projects for developing rotor blades with fully recyclable composites are already underway.

Sources:
Dialogue Forum on Energy and Nature Conservation: https://www.dialogforum-energie-natur.de/ufaq/wird-durch-erosion-an-den-rotoren-mikroplastik-in-die-umwelt-freigesetzt/
Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT: https://www.umsicht.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/umsicht/de/dokumente/publikationen/2018/kunststoffe-id-umwelt-konsortialstudie-mikroplastik.pdf

Just like many other pieces of equipment, modern wind turbines generate aerodynamic (as a result of rotor blade movement) and mechanical (from the gearbox or generator) noise emissions. Germany has strict noise control regulations that are set forth in detail in the German Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) and the corresponding Technical Instructions on Noise Abatement (TA Lärm). The corresponding limits are as follows:

• Max. 60 decibels (dB) during daytime
• Max. 45 decibels (dB) at nighttime

By comparison, a normal rain shower generates around 50 dB, while a quiet conversation generates around 55 dB.

n addition: Sound levels drop significantly as the distance from the corresponding source increases – at a distance of just a few hundred meters, the noise from a wind turbine is often completely overtaken by natural ambient sounds such as the wind blowing through trees or distant road traffic. This means that wind turbines do not emit any noise pollution that is relevant to the nearest residential buildings.

Sources:
Specialist agency for wind and solar energy: https://www.fachagentur-wind-solar.de/wind/schall
German Environment Agency: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/themen/laerm/nachbarschaftslaerm-laerm-von-anlagen/laerm-von-windenergieanlagen

No. The infrasound produced by wind turbines is far below the threshold of human hearing and current research indicates that it is completely harmless.

The term “infrasound” refers to sound with a frequency lower than 20 Hz, and is a feature of everyday life – in fact, it is produced by wind, traffic, home appliances, and inside cars, for example. Numerous studies and measurements show that infrasound from wind turbines is significantly weaker than that from many everyday sources. In fact, the German Environment Agency highlights that there is no scientific evidence of harmful effects on health resulting from wind turbine infrasound, which is corroborated by many additional studies as well.

Sources:
German Environment Agency: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen/infraschall-einfach-erklaert
https://www.bayceer.uni-bayreuth.de/infraschall/de/windenergi/gru/html.php?id_obj=155783

Additional sources:
https://www.bayceer.uni-bayreuth.de/infraschall/de/top/155762/vgbe-ej_2024-06__059-065__HOLZHEU__Authors-Copy_.pdf
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0114183
https://medium.com/the-future-is-electric/humans-evolved-with-infrasound-and-its-harmless-50d42fbc7377

Yes. Wind turbines are recyclable to a very large extent. As of this writing, around 80 to 90 percent of the materials used in them (steel, copper, aluminum, and concrete in particular) can be removed and recycled without issue.

Wind turbines are dismantled in an orderly manner, and the corresponding process is subject to legal requirements that include those outlined in the German Circular Economy Act. The raw materials recovered as a result can be reused in the construction and metal industries.

Sources:
German Wind Energy Association: https://www.wind-energie.de/themen/anlagentechnik/rueckbau/

Countless examples show that wind turbines and tourism can go hand in hand. In many regions, the number of visitors has remained constant even after wind farms are built there – this is especially the case when the topic of renewable energy is proactively incorporated into tourism products, e.g., with lookout points and self-guided trails with information signage.

Examples:
Study by the Arnsberg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sauerland) https://ihk-arnsberg.de/Windkraft_Akzeptanzstudie.HTM
Wind industry in Germany: https://www.windindustrie-in-deutschland.de/meldungen/windraeder-als-zeichen-fuer-gruenen-tourismus-und-sauberen-strom
Renewable Energy Platform Baden-Württemberg: https://erneuerbare-bw.de/de/news/news-einzelansicht/windenergie-schafft-regionale-wertschoepfung-und-kurbelt-den-tourismus-an