Table 1 Overview of Austrian and German regulation instruments for wind power development and the corresponding minimum safety distances to housing areas

Burgenland (Austria)

Regional planning framework concept for wind energy (2010)

1,000 m

Carinthia (Austria)

Directive on wind energy allowance zones (2012)

1,500 m

Lower Austria (Austria)

Sectoral spatial planning program on wind energy use (2014)

1,200 m; 2,000 m

Upper Austria (Austria)

Wind master plan Upper Austria (2012), Upper Austrian law on electricity economy and organization

800 m

Styria (Austria)

Sectoral spatial planning program on wind energy use (2013)

1,000 m

Baden-Württemberg (Germany)

Decree on wind energy Baden-Württemberg (2012)

-

Bayern

Guidance on planning and approval of wind power plants (2011)

800 m

Brandenburg/Berlin (Germany)

Guidance for regional planning associations on the zoning of wind energy suitability zones (2009)

1,000 m

Hamburg (Germany)

Exclusion zones for wind energy in Hamburg (2010)

500 m

Hessen (Germany)

Recommendations about distances between spatially relevant wind energy plants and areas and facilities worthy of protection (2010)

1,000 m; case-by-case examination

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany)

Directive on realignment, modification, or amendment of regional plans in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (2012)

1,000 m

Niedersachen (Germany)

Recommendations about the determination of priority and suitability zones for wind energy use (2004)

1,000 m

Nordrhein Westfalen (Germany)

Decree about planning and approval of wind energy plants and advice for objectives and implementation (2011)

case-by-case examination; calculation according to TA Lärm (technical standard for noise assessment)

Rheinland-Pfalz (Germany)

Advice for the assessment of admissibility of wind power plants (2006)

1,000 m

Saarland (Germany)

Guidance for wind energy use in Saarland (2012)

case-by-case examination, depending on type of plant

Sachsen (Germany)

Separate approaches by the regional planning associations

750–1,000 m

Sachsen-Anhalt (Germany)

Separate approaches by the regional planning associations

1,000 m; size of WPP >100 m: 10× of the total height

Schleswig-Holstein (Germany)

Guiding principles about the planning and implementation of the impact regulation under nature protection law concerning wind power plants (2012)

800 m

Thüringen (Germany)

Recommendations for the amendment of regional plans concerning priority areas for wind energy, which function as suitability zones (2005)

case-by-case examination; appraisal zone of 1,000 m