On 27 May 2026, Germany’s Federal Cabinet approved a bill for an Act to Modernise Urban Development and Spatial Planning Law (Gesetz zur Modernisierung des Städtebau- und Raumordnungsrechts). While primarily aimed at accelerating municipal land-use planning procedures and boosting housing construction, the bill also contains amendments affecting renewables, especially wind energy expansion. Some of these changes also introduce restrictions. Investors and turbine operators should keep track of the bill’s progress.
Content
The bill sets out the following changes to wind turbine planning:
- Special repowering rules: A proposed new section 236(3) Building Code (Baugesetzbuch, “BauGB”) revises the special provisions on the repowering of existing turbines within unzoned areas. Under sections 245e(3) and 249(3) BauGB, repowering is currently permitted in unzoned areas as a privileged development. This remains fundamentally unchanged, but without the reference to the definition in section 16b Federal Emissions Control Act (Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetz). The bill defines repowering projects as “projects for the complete or partial replacement of one wind turbine with another”. Some commentators interpret this as meaning that the privileged status of repowering projects in unzoned areas will in future be limited to a 1:1 ratio, i.e. one new turbine for one dismantled turbine. The bill also prevents wind turbines located inside designated wind energy areas from being replaced by new turbines located outside them. The repowering of existing turbines outside designated wind energy areas – whether with new turbines inside or outside such areas – remains permitted, including where the relevant federal state’s target percentage area has already been met. Existing turbines within wind energy areas may likewise still be repowered even if the relevant target percentage area has already been achieved. Finally, the bill removes the requirement that repowering projects must not conflict with the fundamental features of the applicable plan. This criterion had been applied inconsistently in practice.
- No obligation to dismantle deep foundations: The bill introduces a new section 249(11) BauGB, clarifying that the obligation to dismantle wind turbines (section 35(5), sentence 2 BauGB) does not include removing deep foundations. The obligation is therefore limited to dismantling the turbine and removing any soil sealing. This settles a disputed point in case law and protects deeper soil layers from further disturbance.
- Area inclusion despite height restrictions: A proposed new section 249(6b) BauGB clarifies that height restrictions not resulting from municipal land-use planning (e.g. under the Air Traffic Act (Luftverkehrsgesetz) or section 249(10) BauGB) do not prevent the affected areas from counting towards the federal states’ target percentage areas for wind energy. This could result in the calculated percentages including areas where only wind turbines up to a certain size – and therefore potentially uneconomic – can be operated. Critics view this as a watering down of the federal states’ percentage-area targets, ultimately meaning that fewer turbines will benefit from the simplified approval procedures for turbines in designated wind energy areas.
- National and allied defence: Defence-related concerns will in future be recognised as a matter of public interest under a revised section 35(3) BauGB. Whether this provision will actually affect wind energy expansion remains to be seen. What is certain, however, is that friction between competing land-use interests will increase (on the tension between wind turbines and air defence systems, see our article from February 2026.)
- Privileged status from land-use plan: The bill’s proposed new section 35(1a) BauGB allows municipalities to grant privileged status to selected projects in unzoned areas by designating “special development areas” within the land-use plan. This applies only where the project is not already privileged under section 35(1) BauGB and includes projects that promote the transition to renewable energies (“transformation projects”). Municipalities will therefore in future be able to use planning designations to expand the list of projects enjoying privileged status in unzoned areas under section 35(1) BauGB. Such projects would then be permitted in unzoned areas (subject to the required approvals/permits) unless precluded by public interests. Projects will be considered transformation projects for land-use-plan purposes if they serve the generation, storage or distribution of electricity, heating or cooling. The new instrument is intended to strengthen municipal planning sovereignty and simplify land-use management, particularly in unzoned areas. It can be used, for example, to facilitate and safeguard the implementation of municipal energy and site development concepts, assessments of renewable energies and storage potential, and heat planning.
Amendments relating to battery energy storage systems (BESS) and hydrogen projects dropped (for now)
Earlier proposed changes affecting BESS and hydrogen projects have been removed from the current bill. This includes an adjustment to the privileged status of BESS in unzoned areas, which would have introduced a minimum distance requirement of 100 metres from nearby substations and power plants. The bill also no longer grants privileged status to underground hydrogen storage facilities. These provisions may however be reinstated as the legislative process unfolds.
Conclusion
The bill paints a mixed picture for wind energy. On the positive side, it provides greater clarity on the dismantling obligation and removes the requirement that repowering projects must not conflict with the fundamental features of the applicable plan. At the same time, the bill also marks a potential slowdown after years of significant efforts to accelerate wind energy expansion – particularly given the possible restriction of repowering to a 1:1 ratio and the proposed counting of economically non-viable areas towards the federal states’ target percentage areas.
Forward
