Bavarian law on the participation of communities and the population in wind energy and photovoltaic systems

In the Bavarian state parliament, a bill from the ALLIANCE 90/THE GREENS parliamentary group was rejected in a roll-call vote, which was intended to regulate the participation of communities and the population in wind energy and photovoltaic systems. The aim of the draft was to increase acceptance for the expansion of renewable energies and to strengthen local value creation. Specifically, the draft law stipulated that operators of new wind energy and larger photovoltaic systems would be obliged to offer the affected communities and local residents opportunities to participate, for example in the form of financial participation, reduced electricity tariffs or payments to communities. The exact design should be agreed between project sponsors and municipalities. If no agreement was reached, a compulsory replacement participation was planned. In this case, the operators should, among other things, pay a levy per kilowatt hour produced to the municipalities and provide participation opportunities for citizens, for example through loans. The bill was rejected by 126 votes against, 26 in favor, and 13 abstentions.