Energy - Stengele: Better support for community energy projects
Thuringia's Environmental Minister Bernhard Stengele promises more citizen energy cooperatives for wind power due to better federal funding. According to the regulations that apply from July 1, cooperatives with at least 15 members will benefit from the costs for planning and approval procedures, the Green politician stated on Saturday in Erfurt. The maximum limit per project has been increased to 300,000 Euro.
The goal is to make decentralized citizen projects more attractive. According to Stengele, Thuringia has been working on a state-wide citizen energy fund for wind power for over a year and a half. In Thuringia, there are now around 40 citizen energy cooperatives. With the help of the state fund, planning for eight more citizen solar energy projects has been advanced.
After a pilot phase, the state fund will be switched to credit financing, the Minister announced. Unlike the federal funding, projects from small cooperatives will also be supported. Along with the recently passed Wind Participation Law by the state parliament, which sets minimum standards for the financial participation of municipalities in wind energy revenues, solar panels and wind turbines from energy cooperatives are important for a citizen-friendly energy transition.
Bernhard Stengele, Thuringia's Environmental Minister, acknowledged the significance of small alternative energy cooperatives in Erfurt, expressing their future expansion due to enhanced federal funding. He highlighted that cooperatives with at least 15 members in Thuringia will see reduced costs for planning and approval procedures starting July 1.
Bernhard Stengele's initiatives extend beyond wind energy, as he mentioned Thuringia's long-term commitment to establishing a state-wide citizen energy fund, which has already advanced planning for eight solar energy projects within local cooperatives.
