Second citizen participation on wind power in the Zollernalb district is starting soon!

Second citizen participation on wind power in the Zollernalb district is starting soon!

Wind power plays a central role in the energy supply of the Zollernalbkreis region. The second citizen participation in wind power projects will start on July 30, 2025 and will last until August 29, 2025. This hearing is an opportunity for citizens to actively participate in the planning and to contribute their opinions. There had already been the first public participation, which recorded 477 statements from private individuals and 6,650 from standard answers. 151 public institutions also took part in this process, such as Black Forest messenger reported.

The participation of citizens in wind power projects is becoming increasingly important, especially with regard to the planning areas, which cover over 3,600 hectares. In recent years, concerns and resistance from local residents against the construction of new wind turbines have been loudly expressed. Nevertheless, there are also positive examples, such as the community wind farm in the Soest district of North Rhine-Westphalia, which show that such projects and citizen engagement can successfully go hand in hand. The wind farm there has been producing 55 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually for a year, enough for around 15,000 households. A large number of shareholders, mostly property owners, are driving this success in order to keep the added value locally, according to information from daily news.

Provides space for wind power

In the Neckar-Alb regional association, which also includes the Zollernalb district, a total of 32 priority areas are planned for wind power. 28 of these locations already have concrete plans. The region requires an area of ​​1,664 hectares in the Zollernalb district and 4,037 hectares in the Reutlingen district. In addition, for legal reasons, wind turbines must be built at least 1000 meters away from residential and mixed areas. This could be an exclusion criterion for some planned projects.

• Flächen für Windkraft im Regionalverband:
• Kreis Tübingen: 1334 Hektar (18,9%)
• Zollernalbkreis: 1664 Hektar (23,7%)
• Kreis Reutlingen: 4037 Hektar (57,3%)

The discussion about wind power is not only important locally. The federal government also promotes wind energy projects at the national level and is developing laws such as the “Wind on Land Act” to speed up planning and approval processes. In the first half of 2023, a total of 331 new wind turbines were installed in Germany, which corresponds to a total output of 1.56 gigawatts. However, the challenges that still exist, such as backlogs of applications and long approval procedures, require critical consideration and adjustment, according to the Federal Wind Energy Association.

Solar energy neglected?

Compared to wind power, the topic of solar energy is less widely discussed in public. During the first public participation there were only 101 comments on solar projects, despite an available area of ​​551.8 hectares in the Zollernalb district. The low response suggests that there may be untapped potential that needs to be activated.

In conclusion, one can say that the upcoming citizen participation in wind power projects offers the opportunity to include citizens' opinions and ideas in the planning. The development of wind power in the Zollernalb district remains exciting and will certainly continue to be in the interest of many in the future, as is the dedicated platform Headwind Zollernalb shows.