Now it’s the turn of the federal states
St. Polten (OTS) – A far-reaching amendment to the EIA Act was passed yesterday in the National Council. “The amendment is a milestone for the wind energy industry,” says Ursulanaher, legal expert at IG Windkraft, and adds: “Now the capacities of the approval authorities and administrative courts need to be increased. In addition, the federal states are responsible for quickly designating sufficient areas for the expansion of wind power and thus contributing to solving the energy and climate crisis.
Yesterday, the National Council passed a long-awaited amendment to the Environmental Impact Assessment Act with the votes of the ÖVP, GRÜNEN, SPÖ and NEOS. “The EIA amendment addresses a large number of obstacles that wind farm planners are confronted with in reality, and a significant improvement and acceleration can be expected,” saysnau. The legislative decision now has to go to the Federal Council, which, however, does not have an absolute veto here. The law might then come into force in early April.
Accelerate approval without sacrificing quality
The new EIA Act simplifies and accelerates the approval process without compromising the quality of the review. “Very positive are better structuring of the procedure, the anchoring of public interest in energy transition projects and the avoidance of double assessments, for example in the landscape. Another positive aspect is the fact that projects can be approved independently of the designation of areas by state politics if the states do not have sufficient spatial energy planning”; so nurturer.
The EIA Act applies to wind power projects that have a capacity of more than 30 MW. In alpine regions, this limit is reduced to 15 MW wind farm capacity. For all smaller wind farms, the procedures still need to be accelerated. “We are eagerly awaiting the draft of the announced Renewable Energy Expansion Acceleration Act,” saysnauter.
In cases where there is supra-local wind energy spatial planning, no dedication by the communities will be required in the future. A few days before the law was passed, the abolition of mandatory zoning by the municipalities had caused a stir. Nevertheless, the regulation, which was already contained in the draft assessment, was adopted. IG Windkraft spoke out in favor of declarations of consent from the communities instead of the costly zoning, because good cooperation with the community is crucial for acceptance. Only communities that are completely blocked should be cracked down on. Despite all the joy regarding the improvements brought regarding by the EIA amendment, this resistance from the communities might now throw new spanners into the gears of wind power development. However, the IGW trusts that there is a solution here, for example in the form of guidelines.
Countries need to get their hands on the energy transition now
With the Renewables Expansion Act and the EIA amendment, the federal government has delivered two crucial laws for the energy transition. Now it’s the countries turn. You must identify the necessary areas and equip the approval authorities appropriately.
Questions & contact:
IG Wind Power Austria
Martin Jaksch-flying snow
Mobil: 0660/20 50 755
m.flying snow@igwindkraft.at
