Windkraft: Geplanter Pachtdeckel für Windräder in der Kritik

Plans by the German government to limit wind farm rent payments to 3.5% of annual energy earnings have drawn criticism. The association representing forest owners, AGDW, warned that a rent cap could hinder the expansion of renewable energy in rural areas. AGDW president Andreas Bitter stated that a rent cap would undermine the necessary acceptance for wind power use in rural areas and thus the expansion of wind power on land.

Forest owners can lease their land for wind farm projects and generate long-term income. However, the government plans to limit rent payments to reduce EEG subsidies and relieve the federal budget. The AGDW criticized the government for interfering with functioning markets by imposing a rent cap. Bitter emphasized that private and communal landowners providing land for renewable energy expansion should be encouraged rather than hindered.

The Verband kommunaler Unternehmen (VKU) welcomed the plans, stating that every euro not paid in rent reduces the federal budget and taxpayer burden without compromising wind energy expansion goals. A Munich research institute's opinion, commissioned by the VKU, indicated that a rent cap could result in a total relief of around 13 billion euros between 2025 and 2045 compared to an average rent of 10%.

Lower rent payments would directly reduce project costs, with a 3.5% rent rate resulting in an average of about 32,000 euros per year per wind turbine.