German authorities have started updating legal guidelines for the installation of new offshore wind turbines, as part of a plan to boost the share of renewable energy in the energy mix.
The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) said on Monday it was pushing ahead with the legal planning for new wind turbines out to sea.
The plans will, among other things, define areas and grid connections for the expansion of offshore wind power.
The previous federal government laid the groundwork for the changes in the summer by adopting an ordinance on planning in the German exclusive economic zone in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
The ordinance stated that there should be a "nature-friendly sustainable development of the marine space."
Germany's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) lies between 12 nautical miles and a maximum of 200 nautical miles (22-370 kilometres) off the coast. An EEZ is not part of a country's sovereign territory, but grants the country exclusive rights to use it, barring overlapping claims.
Environmental organizations have accused planning authorities of neglecting nature conservation in the planned development of parts of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
The associations - including BUND, Greenpeace, NABU and WWF - want the expansion of offshore wind energy and marine nature conservation to go hand in hand.
According to the groups, "the expansion of offshore wind energy in protected areas is also no longer excluded in the current plan."
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