A draft amendment to the Law on Investment in Wind Power Plants and Certain Other Laws has been published. Thus, the direction of work on one of the most important laws in the renewable energy market has been officially presented.
According to the current wording of the draft, the minimum distance of wind turbines from residential buildings will not be allowed to be less than 500 meters. This is a significant change compared to previous legislation, which introduced stricter restrictions.
The drafters estimate that the change will result in 32,500 square kilometers of land suitable for the construction of wind farms, an increase of 44% over the current level of land availability. Increasing the availability of land for wind investments is aimed at accelerating the country’s energy transition and increasing the share of renewable energy sources in the national energy mix.
At the same time, the amendment stipulates an obligation to hold at least one open meeting for residents of areas to be designated in the local development plan precisely for wind farms. This is intended to ensure the transparency of the investment process and to take into account the opinions of local communities.
In addition, the amendment introduces the possibility to build a wind power plant on the basis of an integrated investment plan, which is expected to simplify administrative procedures and speed up project implementation.