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Can a community wind farm in the Hovoldinger Forest, supported by three communities, succeed? maybe. Otterfing, Sauerlach, and Aying formed a limited liability company. Now the long time of planning is over. The first three wind turbines in the Miesbach and Munich regions are under construction. The electricity will be harvested starting in 2025.
Outerving – it mizzles. The tops of the fir trees in the background sway slightly. A few hundred meters west of the Markweg Bridge over the A8 motorway, where the communities of Otterving, Sauerlach and Eing meet, and thus also the provinces of Miesbach and Munich, good moods are the order of the day – also due to the weather. “The wind is blowing, which is a good omen,” says Barbara Bogner, mayor of Sauerlach.
On Friday, May 17, about 50 fellow activists stood with Bogner in front of half a hectare of cleared spruce forest. The roots were stacked in piles, and excavators and caterpillars were parked alongside them – the backdrop to a special day for the region's energy supply: Bürgerwind Hofoldinger Forst GmbH & Co. KG, founded in 2022 by the three municipalities, brought people to a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony. People come together at Otterfinger; The Sauerlacher and Ayinger wind turbines are within walking distance. If the three systems are operational from March 2025, they could theoretically supply 9,500 households with climate-friendly electricity.
“The approval process was like a marathon,” explains Michael Falkenhahn, Mayor of Otterving, who is currently Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the GmbH. “It started with a walk, but in the end it was an uphill sprint.” Shifts to obtain timely approval to complete EEG tender.
Falkenhan asserts that a joint project has emerged here. Every community has wind turbines, but always together. “Regardless of party – we municipalities can do this.” Monika Rauhe, who came as a representative of the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, also praised the project as an inter-municipal masterpiece. “Open communication” also helped engage citizens.
“For me, this is a very important aspect,” explains Falkenhan. “Our citizens support the project and have entrusted us with their money.” They have provided a total of six million euros via small loans – an important building block that must cover the total costs of nearly 27 million euros to deal with. “Citizens listened to us and did not believe all the nonsense that was spreading on the Internet,” says Falkenhan.
As GmbH Managing Director Martin Sterflinger explained when asked, there are already discussions with state foresters to establish two additional wind turbine sites, possibly at Brunnthaler Flur. Brunthal was originally part of the Wind Energy Alliance, then left after the local council decision, but can now imagine wind turbines again. Mayor Stefan Kern is present at the groundbreaking ceremony. “Now let's see how it goes,” Bogner teases him.
Concerns that wind turbines would displace valuable forests also played a role in Brunthal's exit. The opposite is the case, as Monika Rauh explains: “We are not destroying the forest here, we are helping it.” In the end, only 0.3 hectares remained treeless in the area surrounding the wind turbines. “The intervention is limited and manageable,” emphasizes Martin Neumayr, a member of the Bavarian State Forest Management Board. The small wind farm is a “wonderful project”.
The schedule stipulates that from September 1, the Sauerlacher tower will be grown, then the Otterfinger and the Ayinger wind turbine tower. According to Sterflinger, the foundations are 22 meters in diameter. In order to be able to deliver cranes, tower parts and rotors, existing forest roads were widened. The three wind turbines are scheduled to begin trial operation from March 2025 – and receive their first funds from EEG.
By the way: Everything from the region is also available in our regular Holzkirchen newsletter.
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