Windkraft: Geplanter Pachtdeckel für Windräder in der Kritik

Critics are raising concerns over the German federal government's proposal for capping wind farm lease payments. The association of forest owners, AGDW, cautioned that a lease cap could hinder the development of renewable energy. AGDW president Andreas Bitter stated that a lease cap would reduce the necessary acceptance for wind power use in rural areas and thus slow down the expansion of land-based wind power.

The federal government plans to cap lease revenues at 3.5 percent of annual electricity revenues as part of the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) reform currently under discussion in the Bundestag. The justification is that lease costs could significantly reduce EEG subsidies and relieve the federal budget. Bitter criticized the federal government for unnecessarily interfering with well-functioning markets with the planned lease cap.

He emphasized that landowners and municipalities should be encouraged to provide land for the expansion of renewable energy, rather than being obstructed. The Verband kommunaler Unternehmen (VKU) welcomed the plans, stating that every euro not spent on lease payments would relieve the federal budget and taxpayers by billions without jeopardizing wind energy expansion targets.

A study by the Munich Energy Economics Research Institute showed that a lease cap would result in a total relief of around 13 billion euros compared to a scenario with nationwide average lease rates of 10 percent by 2045.