Düsseldorf (dpa/lnw) - North Rhine-Westphalia activates additional areas for the expansion of wind and solar energy. The Ministry of Economics and Energy put a corresponding decree into effect on Wednesday. In the future, wind turbines can also be erected on damaged forest areas and in other coniferous forests. However, the decree does not apply in communities with little forest, on nature conservation areas and in deciduous and mixed deciduous forests.
According to the Ministry, the possible areas for solar energy systems along federal trunk roads and national rail routes will also be "significantly enlarged". In the future, open-space solar energy systems will also be possible in "areas for industrial use" in addition to the farm buildings. According to the decree, only around 5 percent of the installed photovoltaic capacity in NRW has so far been accounted for by ground-mounted systems (as of the end of 2021).
In addition, the simultaneous use of agricultural land for energy production is facilitated. In the case of biogas plants, "reasonable spatial expansions of existing operating sites" are also made possible.
"With the decree, we are immediately creating scope for the expansion of renewable energies in North Rhine-Westphalia and are making progress on the way to a climate-neutral future," said Economics Minister Mona Neubaur (Greens). At the same time, the state government is continuing to work "at full speed" on changing the state development plan (LEP) in order to implement the federal government's two percent area target for wind energy as quickly as possible.
According to federal law, NRW is obliged to designate 1.8 percent of the state area as wind energy areas by the end of 2032. The current decree is only a first step in the planned expansion of wind power. The new state development plan with area specifications for six regions should be ready in spring 2024. According to the ministry, the current decree, which is binding for the authorities, should "serve as a guideline for action in the transitional period".
According to the black-green coalition agreement, at least 1,000 additional wind turbines are to be built in NRW over the next five years.
