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Major acceleration package for wind power and industrial installations

The Federal Immission Control Act seeks to protect humans and nature from harmful environmental impacts. Now, the Act has been amended to include the climate a a natural resource worthy of protection. Furthermore, the construction of wind-powered installations can now begin faster, resulting in an acceleration of the energy transition.

On 6 June 2024, the draft legislation for a revised Federal Immission Control Act was adopted by the Bundestag. The draft was then also accepted by the Bundesrat on 14 June 2024, paving the way for the most comprehensive reform of the Federal Immission Control Act in 30 years. In the revised version, the climate has been declared a natural resource worthy of protection, meaning that ordinances setting out requirements for climate action can be passed. Also, approval procedures for industrial installations, including electrolysers, have been accelerated and rendered less bureaucratic, and measures have been taken to promote the expansion of onshore wind-powered installations.

^{Less bureaucracy, easing the burden on companies, affording a high level of environmental protection}

Commenting on the revised Federal Immission Control Act, Federal Minister Habeck said: “By revising the Federal Immission Control Act, we have significantly accelerated the approval of companies and cut red tape from the process, thus easing the burden on companies. The main goal of this acceleration is to speed up the expansion of renewables – especially onshore wind energy – and to streamline the process of constructing industrial plants and electrolysers. This has been achieved without changing the level of protection afforded for the environment. This is good news for the climate and for companies.”

Greater speed has been achieved through measures such as using project managers, eliminating the need for forecast-based decisions and setting approval deadlines more clearly. Digital procedures and a faster expansion of wind energy are key levers for reaching climate targets and combating high electricity prices.

^{Facilitating the repowering of wind-powered installations}

From now on, onshore wind energy projects will benefit from streamlined regulations, particularly for repowering projects, including the advance decision and more efficient redress procedure. Delta examinations will be the standard procedure for repowering, meaning that only changes made to the previous and deficient state will be examined. The procedure no longer entails a hearing date and it is no longer necessary for the operator of the new installation to be the same as for the old one. The advance decision is easier to obtain, allowing project managers to have certain questions specific to the project to be clarified without the need for forecast-based decisions or preliminary environmental impact assessments. The new rules on efficient redress procedures provide for a quick risk assessment regarding potential lawsuits.