Administrative Court Approves Wind Test Site
Administrative Court in Mannheim confirms immission control approval from the Göppingen District Office
Press release District Office of Göppingen - Everything seemed to be in the bag back in June 2020, when the District Office of Göppingen granted the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) permission under immission control law to build the world’s first research test site for wind turbines in a mountainous environment in the Geislingen-Stötten and Donzdorf districts. The project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector, aims to investigate various technical issues relating to the use of wind energy. In addition to this, extensive accompanying nature conservation research is to be carried out in order to gain important findings for the most nature-friendly operation of wind turbines.
It therefore came as a surprise to everyone involved that a recognized environmental association based in the Westerwald region, which had not been involved in the approval process, took legal action against the district administration’s decision and appealed to the Administrative Court of Baden-Württemberg. In a ruling dated October 5, 2022, which became legally binding last Friday, the court dismissed the action in its entirety and thus confirmed the work of the Göppingen District Office. This means that nothing stands in the way of the construction or operation of the research test site.