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New BfN-Script "Birds and wind energy use: best practice examples and planning approaches for conflict resolution"

The nature-friendly design of the energy transition is a central goal of the German government. According to the current coalition agreement, the relationship between climate protection and species protection is to be clarified in order to drastically accelerate the expansion of renewable energies. Accordingly, legal certainty in species protection law (especially with regard to significance thresholds) is to be created through the application of a uniform nationwide assessment method in the species protection assessment of wind energy projects.

Against this background, the different approaches to assessing significance in connection with wind energy development and birds are the focus of the R+D project "Birds and wind energy use: best practice examples and planning approaches to conflict resolution". With a view to the case law, requirements for the assessment of significance are first derived. Based on this, the currently available methodological approaches for assessing the "significantly increased risk of killing" are recorded and classified. The existing approaches for a possible species protection exemption procedure according to § 45 para. 7 BNatSchG are also presented and assessed. In addition, recommendations are formulated both for the significance assessment and for the exception as to how any existing deficits in the previous approaches can be remedied or in which areas further development is required.

Wulfert, K., Köstermeyer, H., Lau, M., Fischer, S., Kostelnik, I., Schöne-Warnefeld, J., Weber, J. (2022): Vögel und Windenergienutzung: Best Practice-Beispiele und planerische Ansätze zur Konfliktlösung. BfN-Schriften 634 (2022)

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How can the expansion in renewable energies be designed in harmony with nature? The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) is providing expert scientific advice on this question to the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (Bundesumweltministerium, BMUB). Research by the BfN always has a practical application and generates scientific results for advising government i.e. supplies a basis for decision-making for the preparation, implementation, monitoring and further development of nature conservation measures and the Federal Government's nature conservation policy.