In November 2023, the revised EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) entered into force, increasing the 2030 renewable energy (RE) target to 42.5%, with an ambition to reach 45%. Despite a record installation of 16 gigawatts (GW) of wind power in 2022, this pace falls significantly short of the 37 GW per year required to achieve this target.
The definition of setback distances to residential areas plays a crucial role in the success to achieve this goal. If they are too strict, wind energy expansion is. However, if too loose, citizens may feel harmed, lowering public acceptability towards wind energy project, in the worst case, halting the project development.
A patchwork of setback distances across Europe
Depending on the national motivation to foster wind energy development, differing setback distances have been legally enshrined, leading to a patchwork of binding setback distances for wind parks across Europe. Addressing this diversity in recommendations and regulations proposed by federal and national policy makers, our partner Kelso Institute Europe (KIE) conducts a comparative analysis, collect data on legally binding setback distances in the EU27, CH, NO and the UK.
Although minimum setback distances to residential areas are the most fiercly debated topics in public discourse, our research also encompasses setback distances to other areas. After an internal brainstorm-process among the WIMBY partners, the following seven areas have been added: (i) railway lines; (ii) motorways; (iii) transmission lines; (iv) airports / radar systems; (v) military areas; (v) shorelines and (vii) wildlife.
Wind enegy expert interviews supporting the data-collection process
The KIE team is collecting wind energy related distance data by conducting a legal analysis of regulatory documents but only, by conducting semi-structured interviews with wind energy experts from differing institutions, such as energy ministries, wind energy associations and wind energy developers. The interviews are being held online and accompanied by a Miro board, visualising the requested data (see picture below).
Monika Bucha @wimby
Interview with an Austrian wind energy expert from IG Windkraft
In a recent interview, a representative of the Austrian wind energy assocation IG Windkraft has offered a comprehensive overview of legally binding minimum distances wind park developers must respect in this Alpine Republic. Mag.iur. Paula Resch has been working on wind energy related topics for more than nine years and is working as a lawyer at IG Windkraft. With respect to Austria, she underlines its federal structure, which must be taken into account when conducting research in this field. Setback distances to certain areas, such as residential areas, do not lie in the competence of the Republic, but of the Federal States. A comprehensive overview of setback distances to residential areas in Austria has already been provided in the WIMBY Deliverable 2.9. Here, disances for commercal wind turbine range between 1 km (Upper Austria) and 1,5 km (Carinthia).
With respect to the other seven categories, setback distance are defined on a national level. When defining setback distances to railway lines, motorways and transition lines, distances are not defined in hard numbers, but is up to calculations of experts working in risk science and management. According to the respective regulations, minimum distances to these areas must be defined in a way that “neither people nor the environment are put into danger. A rule of thumb for areas around the wind turbine which must be kept clear multiplying the turbine height with 1,2 – 1,5”, Mag.iur. Resch says.
Data exploitation in the WIMBY map
The collected data on minimum setback distances across Europe will be relevant for designing the WIMBY Map. This open-access and interactive online map is one of the final outputs of the WIMBY project. It provides open-access data to stakeholders interested in the wind energy sector and includes gamified features, such as the option to place wind turbines anywhere within Europe on the virtual map (similar to the orange Pegman in “google maps) and receiving information on regulations (such as minimum setback distances) that must be respected when planning a wind energ project in this area.
Written by: Monika Bucha, Legal Affairs & Energy Law
Kelso Institute Europe
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