Russwurm considers precisely these plans to be too unambitious. “Halving the length of procedures is not enough if the government is to achieve its goals, meet schedules and secure necessary investments,” he said.
For the President of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), Peter Adrian, it would be an “important first step” to halve the duration of the procedure. But that’s not enough: “In many cases we need even greater acceleration,” Adrian told Handelsblatt. Many neighboring European countries are already faster.
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As an example, Adrian cited the collapsed Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy, which was completely rebuilt in less than two years. In contrast, the new construction of the Rahmede viaduct on the A45 in the Sauerland, which is only half as long, should take five years. “For the affected local economy and transit traffic, this borders on a catastrophe,” complained the DIHK President. “We also need significantly more speed for such existential transport projects.”
Need for action in wind power
The traffic light parties want to push the energy transition with their plans from the coalition agreement. There is currently a considerable need for action, especially with regard to the expansion of wind power. In view of the much more ambitious targets set by the new federal government, it must be “a matter of leveraging all potential for acceleration in order to enable economic and climate-friendly expansion,” says the joint annual report of several industry associations, which was recently published.
The coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP wants the share of renewable energies in electricity consumption to increase from around 42 percent at present to 80 percent by 2030. In addition, the traffic light significantly increased the expansion targets for offshore wind energy compared to the previous government.
Along with onshore wind and solar energy, offshore wind is a central pillar in the expansion of green electricity. Thousands of kilometers of new power lines have to be laid to ensure that the wind power, which is mainly generated in the north, reaches the large consumption centers in the south. However, there is a risk that grid expansion will be delayed by years.
The new Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) therefore wants to speed up the planning and approval process. This is a building block in the minister’s ambitious program, who sees a “dramatic deficit” in climate protection.
According to BDI President Russwurm, the duration of approval procedures for industrial plants has almost tripled in recent years. “This is unacceptable for the companies, a danger for Germany as an industrial location and a drastic obstacle on the path to climate neutrality in the country,” he said.
The expansion of the power grid has been a politically explosive topic for years. New high-voltage lines or the construction of wind turbines regularly cause local protests. The result is lengthy approval procedures and time-consuming administrative court processes.
An example: The Wiesbaden project developer for wind turbines Abo Wind had to put the construction and operation of a wind farm in the southern Odenwald on hold because it first had to be clarified in court whether the project could pose a “risk of killing” the black stork.
The dispute, which the company finally won this year, lasted five years. As a consequence of such cases, the Regulatory Control Council, an independent advisory body of the federal government, calls for a “planning acceleration agenda”.
There have recently been several changes in the law intended to speed up the process. So far, however, there has been no resounding success.
“Excruciatingly long procedures”
Russwurm sees the main cause of the problem in environmental and planning law as well as in “German over-fulfilment” of European requirements. It is imperative to simplify European environmental law and to achieve more efficient application practice in Germany. “Battles of experts in approval procedures, overburdening of the courts and excruciatingly long procedures can only be avoided with more legal certainty and clear technical rules,” said the BDI President.
DIHK President Adrian relies on the support of the EU Commission with a view to far-reaching simplifications in the right to sue or the protection of species. “But we can regulate many things better in Germany in the future,” he added.
In the 16 federal states, for example, there are either no or different regulations for dealing with species that are particularly worthy of protection in the vicinity of wind turbines. “If we set uniform nationwide standards for this, we can save a lot of time when choosing a location and later checking the nature conservation authorities,” said Adrian.
BDI President Russwurm advocated accelerating planning and building by opening up the possibility of obtaining building rights by law instead of through an administrative act. Germany’s future depends more than ever on efficient and environmentally friendly infrastructure.
For particularly important energy and transport infrastructure projects, the legislature should therefore create “building rights by parliamentary resolution”.
The fact that the time factor is playing an increasingly important role, especially in climate protection investments, shows that there is a need for action in this regard. “Effective climate protection can only be achieved with new investments in industrial production processes and infrastructure,” says the head of the Regulatory Control Council, Johannes Ludewig. “But if the planning and approval procedures for these investments take ten years or longer, the climate protection goals simply cannot be achieved.”
More: Aiwanger contradicts Söder in wind energy expansion: “We have to move forward”