According to the announcement of the Ministry of Development, Labor and Technology, the application for entry into the list of legislative works of the Council of Ministers of the draft act amending the act on investments in wind farms received a positive opinion of the Government Work Programming Team.
The aim of the draft act prepared by the Ministry of Regional Development and Planning is to reduce the rigors of the rule defining the minimum distance of a wind farm from residential buildings and forms of nature protection. The act of 20 May 2016 on investments in wind farms introduced the so-called the 10H rule, i.e. the rule according to which onshore wind farms can be located from residential buildings at a distance of at least ten times the height of the plant. As a result, the construction of new power plants was made very difficult. At the same time, it was impossible to build residential houses at a distance of less than 10H, which in practice blocked the development of housing in the vicinity of existing power plants. Proposed changes to the so-called the distance act was created in response to the expectations of local governments, local communities and organizations supporting the development of renewable energy sources.
The basic principle of locating a new wind farm
The draft act maintains the basic principle of locating a new wind farm solely on the basis of the Local Spatial Development Plan (Local Development Plan). The general 10H rule was also kept, but in special cases municipalities will decide on the designation of wind farm locations as part of the local planning procedure. The draft act assumes that the final location of the wind farm, including the permissible distance from residential buildings, will be verified and determined under the procedure of issuing by the Regional Director for Environmental Protection in a decision on environmental conditions for a given investment on the basis of a detailed environmental impact report. The draft act will indicate the minimum distance that will have to be taken into account in local development plans, environmental decisions and building permits – such a distance of at least 500 m is considered based on scientific studies of the impact ranges of wind farms.
Locating residential buildings in the vicinity of operating wind farms
An important change is the possibility of locating residential buildings in the vicinity of already operating wind farms, taking into account the aforementioned planned minimum distance of 500 m or more resulting from the protection zones adopted in the local development plan or resulting from the environmental decision. The MRPiT received opinions in which it was pointed out that the 10H rule significantly limited the possibility of developing residential buildings for owners of building plots located within 10H distances around the existing wind farm. The new solutions are to create favorable conditions for the development of residential construction.
Announcement of the Ministry of Development, Labor and Technology