Report on renewables’ impact on landscapes likely to fuel criticism of wind power expansion in South Hesse

As South Hesse’s regional assembly prepares to approve its renewable energy development plan by the end of this year, a new report published by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) is likely to lead to increased criticism of wind power expansion in the region, according to an article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Currently, 11 percent of Germany’s land area is used for wind turbines, solar fields, and biogas and pumped storage power plants, and this figure is expected to grow in light of the government’s increasingly ambitious renewable energy deployment targets, the article says. To build “essential” support for Germany’s transition to a low-carbon economy, the agency’s report suggests that citizens should have more of a say in determining where and under what conditions new renewable energy facilities are built, according to the article.

For background, read the factsheets Fighting windmills: When growth hits resistance and Bioenergy’s public acceptance problem.