Bavaria only put four new wind turbines into operation in the first half of 2024. The environmental association Greenpeace has sharply criticized the slow expansion. The Free State is in danger of missing its own targets.
In Bavaria, only four new wind turbines were put into operation in the first half of 2024. In terms of installed capacity per square kilometer, the Free State is currently in last place among the German federal states. This is the result of an evaluation of data from the so-called market master data register carried out by Greenpeace Bavaria.
Wind turbines: expansion in Bavaria stagnates
In Bavaria, the expansion of wind power has been stagnating at a low level for years. In its coalition agreement, the Bavarian state government had set itself the goal of building 1,000 new wind turbines by 2023.
But to achieve this goal, Energy Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) would have to increase the current number per half year by more than seventeen times. At the current pace, it would take 125 years for the Free State to reach its self-declared goal. Saskia Reinbeck, energy expert at Greenpeace Bavaria, said:
This is a catastrophic result for Bavaria. These figures show the lack of seriousness and fossil fuel obstinacy of Energy Minister Hubert Aiwanger. Wind power is still in a lull in the Free State.
Free State will not achieve expansion figures
In comparison to other federal states, Bavaria only achieves 38 kilowatts of wind power per square meter. Schleswig-Holstein leads the field with 551 kilowatts. North Rhine-Westphalia is the second largest state in terms of area with 266 kilowatts per square meter. Of all the federal states, only Berlin has fewer systems per area. Saskia Reinbeck says:
Hubert Aiwanger must now step up the pace to quickly make Bavaria independent of increasingly expensive fossil fuels. A secure supply of renewable energy will make the business location more attractive and we citizens will feel this in our electricity and heating bills.
According to Greenpeace, however, Bavaria will not achieve the necessary expansion targets for wind turbines in the coming years. This is shown by the permits granted for wind turbines that are due to go into operation in the next two to three years.
In the first half of 2024, Bavaria approved only 16 new wind turbines with a total output of 90 megawatts. For comparison: The study “Energy System Analysis Bavaria Climate Neutral”, commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, estimates a need of 406 megawatts per half year. According to Greenpeace, the Free State would not be climate neutral until 2301, provided emissions continue to fall at the average rate of the years 2003 to 2021.
Source: https://www.basicthinking.de/blog/2024/07/24/katastrophale-bilanz-bayern-hat-in-diesem-jahr-erst-vier-windraeder-gebaut/
