Court allows wind turbines in the garden – environmental protection wins in Altenkirchen!

Court allows wind turbines in the garden – environmental protection wins in Altenkirchen!

In a groundbreaking ruling, the Rhineland-Palatinate Higher Administrative Court decided that small wind turbines can be built in private outdoor areas without feeding into the public grid. This gives hope to many citizens who are looking for environmentally conscious energy solutions for their own consumption. According to [Chip]. The district rejected the application because the systems are not considered privileged projects that generate electricity for public supply.

The plaintiffs then sued and the court ruled in their favor. The Higher Administrative Court rejected the district's appeal and emphasized the importance of environmentally and resource-saving energy supply. The court emphasized that there is no unwritten requirement to feed the energy generated into the public grid. This has far-reaching significance for citizens who want to make an active contribution to the energy transition, because it frees them from dependence on public supply structures. In addition, concerns expressed by the district regarding the proliferation of small wind turbines were also refuted.

Energy from private consumption

The court's decisions are based on Section 35 Paragraph 1 No. 5 of the Building Code. According to ovg.justiz.rlp.de this shows that the construction of such systems is to be viewed as a privileged project. This not only promotes environmentally friendly energy supply, but also increases individual consumption. The plaintiffs can now hope for a preliminary building permit to be issued and thus come closer to their idea of ​​having their own wind turbine for their own consumption.

But the permits are not so clear everywhere in Rhineland-Palatinate. In the Trier-Saarburg district, a couple is experiencing difficulties building a 24-meter-high small wind turbine on their property. The municipality initially refused approval here because the distance to residential development was not sufficient. The administrative court initially confirmed this decision, but the higher administrative court overturned the judgment due to errors in the land use plan and ordered the case to be re-examined. This shows that the legal framework for wind turbines can be interpreted differently from region to region, which leads to uncertainty for applicants. The husband of the plaintiff couple reported that they had been waiting for a result since 2019.

Market development and innovation opportunities

The discussion about small wind turbines comes at a time when the trend towards using renewable energies is also making visible progress in other areas. For example, the Federal Wind Energy Association has published a comprehensive market overview of small wind turbines. This contains around 230 data sheets with detailed information about the devices as well as orientation aids for builders and architects. This could help to speed up and facilitate the processes surrounding approvals and construction of wind turbines through clear information and checklists.

Overall, it shows that the ruling by the Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate represents a positive development for owners who want to actively participate in the energy transition. The abolition of the feed-in requirement could create further incentives for private households to invest in small wind energy and thus contribute to reducing CO2 emissions. Although there are still some challenges, the cards for wind energy in the private sector appear to be being reshuffled.