The bill liberalizing the regulations on onshore wind energy has been submitted for public consultation and its draft has been included on the government docket. The Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment speaks about the duet of renewable and nuclear power.
The bill, drafted under the number UD89, was included in the government docket. „The current regulations included in the act of 20 May 2016 on investments in wind farms (Journal of Laws from 2024, position 317), hereinafter referred to as the „law on investments”, do not sufficiently contribute to the development of onshore wind energy,” the authors write in relation to the provisions that allowed the construction of wind farms at a distance of ten times the height of the turbine (10H). Now the old proposal to make the distance at a minimum of 500 meters from buildings is back on the table and the lawmakers argue that it will make it possible to quickly build a large number of onshore wind turbines in line with the expectations of the industry.
The main amendments to the act on investments in wind power plants mentioned by the authors include:
- Repeal of the 10H rule.
- Modification of the rules for locating wind power plants away from national parks by setting a minimum distance expressed in metres (currently the 10h rule), and from Natura 2000 reserves and areas established to protect birds and bats by setting a minimum distance expressed in metres.
- New minimum distance between onshore wind turbines and residential installations set at 500 m;
- Possibility of locating a wind power plant on the basis of a specific type of LSDP, such as an Integrated Investment Plan.
- Alignment of the planning process currently contained in the act on investments in wind power plants with the general principles contained in the act on planning and spatial development.
- Improving the regulatory functioning of the mechanism for making at least 10 percent of the wind power capacity available to interested residents using the generated energy in the formula of virtual prosumers or energy cooperatives.
Onshore wind farms could produce up to 15.8 GW of power in 2030, according to the draft National Energy and Climate Plan. Previous regulations limited the availability of land for such investments.
„We keep our word! A bill unlocking onshore wind energy has been added to the government’s docket. The consultations and negotiations with different ministries are ahead of us. A mix of atom+RES is a guarantee of cheaper electricity and a clean environment,” wrote Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment Miłosz Motyka on Twitter.