Abstract
Wind power is one way we can reduce our dependency on fossil fuel imports and mitigate climate change. However, wind power can play this important role only if sufficient space for wind farming is made available off-shore as well as on-shore including sites far away from the seashores. Against this background this paper presents a comparative analysis of two hinterland case studies from Germany. Applying GIS and official wind speed data we evaluate the effectiveness of designated wind farming areas in the regions of West Saxony and North Hesse in terms of their expected wind energy yields and potential for repowering. We show that, in this respect, the current spatial allocation for wind power generation in both study regions is not as effective as it could be, but for different reasons. We contrast this finding with an alternative proposal which not only meets the legal requirements for wind power generation but also yields better results in terms of expected energy output. This proposal takes into account the availability of different turbine types and a spatial re-allocation of wind farming areas within the study regions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
In fact, the EEG itself came into force in the year 2000; however, its predecessor, the electricity-feed-in-law had already become effective in 1991.
- 2.
A similar approach, but on a smaller spatial scale, has been applied by Krewitt and Nitsch (2003).
- 3.
Cf. park layout recommendations of the Danish Wind Industry Association (2009).
- 4.
The data provided here originates prior to a territorial reform in the state of Saxony as from 1 August 2008. In consequence of a consolidation of counties and planning regions the planning region West Saxony lost one of its former member counties and was scaled down to a surface area of 3,964 km?. Nevertheless, the Regional Plan West Saxony effective since 25 July 2008 has remained in force unchanged.
- 5.
According to a wind power expert from Saxony, personal communication, 22 July 2008.
- 6.
Although the official term in Hesse is administrative district (Regierungsbezirk), we use the term planning region here as well for the sake of comparison with Saxony.
- 7.
CO2 savings are set at 856 t/GWh according to Ragwitz and Klobasa (2005), cited in Ohl and Eichhorn (2009).
- 8.
This condition derives from appeals of the military district administration in the course of building permit procedures on the local level for two repowering sites. Although not a requirement imposed by the regional plan, it has to be considered when it comes to repowering; personal communication: Regierungspräsidium (district government) Kassel, 1 October 2009.
References
BMU, 2007, Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit (Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety), Klimaagenda 2020: der Umbau der Industriegesellschaft, Hintergrundpapier (Climate Agenda 2020: Reconstructing the Industrial Society, Background Paper), Berlin, Germany.http://www.bmu.de/files/pdfs/allgemein/application/pdf/hintergrund_klimaagenda.pdf.
Danish Wind Industry Association, 2009, Park Effect - Park Layout. http://guidedtour.windpower.org/en/tour/wres/park.htm.
DWD, 2007, Deutscher Wetterdienst (German Meteorological Service), Winddaten für Deutschland Bezugszeitraum 1981-2000, mittlere jährliche Windgeschwindigkeit und Weibull-Parameter 80 m über Grund (Wind Data for Germany from 1981-2000, average annual wind speed and Weibull distribution 80 m above ground level). Abteilung Klima und Umweltberatung, Zentrales Gutachterbüro (Department of Climate and Environment Counselling: Central Assessment Office.) Offenbach, Germany.
EEG, 2009, Gesetz für den Vorrang Erneuerbarer Energien (Renewable Energy Sources Act) (EEG), Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette) Jahrgang (Volume) 2008 Teil I Nr. 49 (Part I No. 49), Bonn. http://www.bgblportal.de/BGBL/bgbl1f/bgbl108s2074.pdf.
GWEC, and Greenpeace, 2008, Global Wind Energy Council and Greenpeace International, Global Wind Energy Outlook 2008, Brussels and Amsterdam. http://www.gwec.net/fileadmin/documents/Publications/GWEO_2008_final.pdf.
Koeck, W., and Bovet, J., 2008, Windenergieanlagen und Freiraumschutz (Wind turbines and free space protection), NuR 30:529–534.
Krewitt, W., and Nitsch, J., 2003, The potential for electricity generation from on-shore wind energy under the constraints of nature conservation: a case study for two regions in Germany, Renewable Energy 28:1645–1655.
Ohl, C., and Eichhorn, M., 2009, The Mismatch between Regional Spatial Planning for Wind Power development in Germany and National Eligibility Criteria for Feed-in Tariffs - A case study in West Saxony, Land Use Policy: article in press, corrected proof, available online 18 July 2009, doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2009.06.004.
Ohl, C., and Monsees, J., 2008, Sustainable Land Use against the Background of a Growing Wind Power Industry, UFZ-Discussion Paper 16/2008, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Grimma, Germany.
RPW, 2008, Regionaler Planungsverband Westsachsen (Regional Planning Agency West Saxony), Regionalplan Westsachsen 2008 (Regional Plan West Saxony 2008), Leipzig, Germany. http://www.rpv-westsachsen.de/
RVN, 2009, Regierungspräsidium Kassel (District Government Kassel), Geschäftsstelle der Regionalversammlung Nordhessen (Agency of the Regional Assembly North Hesse), Regionalplan Nordhessen 2009 - Genehmigungsentwurf (Regional Plan North Hesse 2009 - On-Approval-Draft) Kassel, Germany. http://www.rp-kasselhessende/irj/RPKS_Internet?uid=3231993b-5869-0111-0104-3765bee5c948.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Monsees, J., Eichhorn, M., Ohl, C. (2010). Securing Energy Supply at the Regional Level – The Case of Wind Farming in Germany : A Comparison of Two Case Studies from North Hesse and West Saxony. In: Barbir, F., Ulgiati, S. (eds) Energy Options Impact on Regional Security. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9565-7_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9565-7_15
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-9564-0
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-9565-7
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)