Pentling in the wind power dilemma: priority areas despite citizen protests!

Pentling in the wind power dilemma: priority areas despite citizen protests!

On September 2, 2025, the new “Onshore Wind Act” came into force, which sets binding area values ​​for the construction of wind turbines for all federal states. In Bavaria, at least 1.1% of the state's area is earmarked as priority areas for wind turbines by December 31, 2027 and a total of at least 1.8% of the area by December 31, 2032. The introduction of this law is intended to promote the expansion of renewable energies in Germany, in particular by simplifying the issuing of building permits in designated priority areas.

The regional planning associations are responsible for determining these priority areas. The municipality of Pentling is part of the Regional Planning Association Region 11. As part of the planning, various potential areas for wind turbines have been developed in coordination with specialist departments since the end of 2022. However, the originally presented potential areas for Pentling were significantly revised and reduced in 2023 and 2024.

Vote in the local council

At the local council meeting on June 5, 2025, the members rejected areas R 1, R 2 and R 4 as wind priority areas. At the same time, the R 6 area was viewed by a large majority as a possible priority area. The consideration of the local council's statement is still being processed by the regional association's planning committee.

On July 28, 2025, an information event took place in the town hall's community hall, which was attended by around 120 people. Numerous questions from citizens were answered there and a reply letter from the district office was sent. When planning and approving wind turbines, public concerns such as monument protection must also be taken into account. There is an approval process under emissions control law that must be completed before any wind turbine is built.

Influences of legislation

The legal framework for wind power in Bavaria was severely restricted by the 10H regulation, which stipulated a distance of at least ten times the height of a wind turbine to residential buildings by 2022. However, this regulation was reformed in 2022 and now requires a minimum distance of 1000 meters. Exceptions can be regulated by a municipal development plan.

Since May 2023, there has no longer been a state minimum distance in wind energy areas, which should make the construction of wind turbines much easier. However, the designation of wind priority areas does not automatically lead to the construction of wind turbines, as each individual project must go through a separate approval process.

With regard to UNESCO World Heritage status, it can be stated that this generally has no negative impact on the designation of wind priority areas. No restrictions were identified for official aviation in the regional planning process, while gliding or model flying areas are taken into account in the emissions control approval process.

For detailed information about the planning in Bavaria, those interested can visit the municipality's official homepage, where all statements from the regional planning association can be viewed. In addition, it offers Bavaria Energy Agency comprehensive information on regional planning.

For further background information on the planning and approval of wind turbines in Germany, a detailed background paper is available on the website Wind industry in Germany available.