Wind Energy Area Requirements Act (WindBG), last amended by the Law implementing the requirements of Directive (EU) 2023/2413

This Act seeks to promote the transformation to a GHG neutral power supply based on renewable energies by accelerating the expansion of onshore wind energy. It sets binding area targets requiring each German federal state to designate a fixed percentage of its territory for onshore wind energy, ranging roughly from 0.25% to 1.8% by 2027 and 0.5% to 2.2% by 2032. Article 6 brings procedural acceleration provisions by § 6 introduced permitting simplifications for projects within designated wind energy areas, § 6a deems certain pre-existing wind areas as "acceleration areas" (Beschleunigungsgebiete) by law, and § 6b, which was added by the last amendment from 12.08.2025 RED III implementation act, exempts projects in acceleration areas from environmental impact, FFH, species-protection, and water-management assessments in favor of a streamlined 45-day review with a compensation-payment fallback, reinforcing the Act's overall purpose of accelerating onshore wind expansion.