Wind power protests in Bad Waldsee: Mayor Henne speaks of encirclement!

Wind power protests in Bad Waldsee: Mayor Henne speaks of encirclement!

On September 17th, the planning committee of the Lake Constance-Upper Swabia regional association (RVBO) met in Blitzenreute to discuss the sub-regional energy plan. A recurring topic that is causing a lot of excitement are the plans for the use of wind power in the region. Around 70 wind power opponents showed their colors during the meeting and loudly expressed their dissatisfaction. They chanted phrases like “We are here because wind power is robbing us of the future” and held up banners with statements like “Wind turbines drive away tourism” and “Wind turbines kill bats.”

The new draft for the sub-regional plan stipulates that an average of 1.85% of the area in the association area will be made available for wind power. For Bad Waldsee, however, a significantly higher rate of 4.27% is targeted. Mayor Matthias Henne spoke out against this plan and emphasized that Bad Waldsee was already excessively burdened. The vote in the planning committee was 16 yes, 4 no and 1 abstention. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether the association meeting on September 26th will finally decide on the plan, as the screen newspaper reports.

Wind power in Bad Waldsee – a double-edged sword

The city of Bad Waldsee sees itself in a special situation due to the planned wind power projects in the region. So far, an impressive 583 hectares have been planned for wind energy, which corresponds to 5.4% of the city's area - three times as much as required by law. Mayor Monika Ludy has therefore already written a statement in the past to delete several areas from the plan. She criticized the uneven distribution of the area targets, especially with regard to Bad Waldsee as a spa town, which is a popular destination for those seeking relaxation and tourists, as schwaebische.de explains.

The city would like to revise four wind energy areas in detail. A compromise of 376 hectares to 110 to 188 hectares is sought for the “Osterhofen” area, while the “Urbach” area is to be deleted entirely. In the discussion about photovoltaic areas, a reduction from 96 hectares to 48 hectares is sought, which would only account for 0.4% of the area.

Planning and resistance

Mayor Henne has already expressed concerns that the city's proposals will not be implemented by the regional association's approval committees. Although the city council is unanimous in its opinion that the plans need to be revised, it remains questionable how much they will be heard by the higher-level committees. The resistance among the population is strong, which is expressed not only in the protests, but also in the unanimous approval in the local council of the city's statement, which, among other things, calls for the reduction of the planned areas.

This conflict over wind power is not just a local phenomenon. In general, the expansion of wind power in Germany is burdened by bureaucracy and complex approval procedures. Despite an increase in investments in wind power projects to a total of 7.4 billion euros in 2023, expansion in the onshore sector has only increased slowly, as strom-report.com notes.

The bevy of wind power projects in Bad Waldsee remains a hotly debated topic, and the coming weeks will show how the situation will develop. It is clear that calls for a quieter and less burdensome solution for residents cannot be ignored. Who wants a constant legal battle over wind turbines on the edge of their house? In any case, dialogue between city officials and the public is essential to promote a balanced understanding of the opportunities and risks of wind power.