The German government has passed a law that accelerates planning procedures for infrastructure projects including onshore wind farms.
The Investment Acceleration Act provides for important planning and procedural changes for various infrastructure projects, the government said.
For example, the time taken to deal with objections to wind farms has been shortened.
Federal minister of economics Peter Altmaier (pictured) said: “With the Investment Acceleration Act, a big step has been taken towards faster planning and approval procedures.
“This is an important signal for the future for Germany as an investment location. And for the onshore wind energy sector, it is also a good signal for the energy transition.
“With the law, we ensure that the planning and approval procedures for onshore wind turbines are accelerated.
“In this way, we shorten the administrative courts’ appeal and thus the overall duration of the proceedings.
“In addition, the so-called ‘suspensive effect’ of objection and contestation does not apply to lawsuits against the approval of wind turbines.
“This is also an important contribution to accelerating the expansion of wind energy on land.”
German wind energy group BWE executive director Wolfram Axthelm welcomed the new regulation.
“A legal instrument that has been tried and tested in the area of infrastructure is now applicable for wind energy,” he said.
“This means above all that lawsuits blocking permits are no longer granted in some cases for years,” he added.