County-wide screenings for wind energy sites

It is conceivable that in the course of the energy debate caused by climate change, the legal and sub-legal framework for wind energy use will be adapted in order to develop new potentials. Thus the Directive of the European Parliament and the Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources defines that the contribution of renewable energy to the complete energy consumption shall be at an average of 20% in the community to 2020. For Germany the national aim is 18% in 2020. This aim only can be met if the contribution of onshore wind energy also considerably increases and regional planning concepts are adapted.


Potential sites for wind energy use can only be identified in Germany by expert advice and good knowledge of spatial planning and the nature conservation enactment. OECOS GmbH already conducted about 90 countywide screenings to identify and assess sites and larger areas with low conflicts for wind energy use. On the basis of spatial planning criteria and nature conservation categories, our consultancy has developed a specific GIS method related to the systematic search of suitable areas that are characterised by low conflicts. This method is not only suitable in Germany and has already been proved of great use in other European countries.


Derived from foreseeable development trends and, if necessary, from existing recommendations, we will develop criteria in coordination with the customer in order to search for adequate sites. The digital processing safeguards a reliable identification of potential sites with few conflicts. Our method works without the use of expensive data. The benefit and advantage of this methodology consists in the prompt availability and high detail accuracy of the results as well as in an easily manageable input of resources.


In the past, many suggestions were discussed to provide new areas for wind farms. For example, one suggestion consisted in the possibility of reducing the protection and safety distances of wind farms for certain uses. Another current suggestion lies in concentrating wind turbines in polluted areas and reducing certain distance criteria related to these prerequisites.


For instance, motorways and railway tracks affect the adjacent areas considerably due to their traffic. This applies to noise, barrier effects for animals or also to the natural scenery. In these areas it is suitable to build wind turbines preferentially; the additional impairment turns out lower here than in the free landscape. This approach has just been confirmed and checked by a research project at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety in three model regions. The potential for wind farm areas depends very strongly on the concepts and criteria of the particular regional planning system.


In regard to its activities in many planning regions of Germany, OECOS GmbH is about to extend its evaluation methods in order to estimate the precise wind potential of motorways and railway tracks.


The following tasks are conducted in coordination with the customers:


  • Selection of the research area for suitable route sections (pre-load, wind speed, status of the regional planning and so on)

  • Enquiry of the current legal and planning criteria for the establishing of admissible areas for wind turbines in the respective regions

  • Suggestion of criteria and areas which allow the construction of wind turbines in the neighbourhood of motorways or railway tracks,

  • Coordination of the land use and minimum distances with the customers,

  • GIS-supported determination of potential locations for wind converters along the selected route sections,

  • Description of the sites and, if necessary, verification and concretion.