After the coalition’s first (and record-breaking, as it was revealed before the new government was formed) scandal of December 13, MP Paulina Hennig-Kloska not only suffered no political consequences, but even became Minister of Climate and Environment. . The controversial ‘windmill law’ will return in June, when its draft will be announced, according to Money.pl. So far it is known that wind turbines can be built half a kilometer from buildings.
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The first project in this term, which liberalized the construction of onshore wind farms, was a false start. It was tabled at the start of the term to supplement the coalition’s bill extending the energy price freeze until the end of the year, but was lost amid accusations of lobbying.
– we read in money.pl. Well, maybe because it contains some rather disturbing solutions. He led, among other things, the possibility of expropriation of private individuals in favor of investors building renewable energy sources.
Scope becomes ‘much wider’
According to the website, the Regulatory Impact Assessment (IAS) regarding the law shows that its scope will be much broader. It will not only concern the liberalization of regulations for the construction of onshore wind turbines, but also support for other types of renewable energy sources, including biogas and hydroelectric power stations, and changing the rules for licensing installers of renewable energy.
The most important package of regulations concerns reducing the permitted distance from wind turbines to residential buildings. The law aims to finally abolish the 10 hour rule, i.e. placing such wind turbines at a distance equal to ten times their height, as well as the infringement made by the PiS government in this rule, making it possible shorten the distance to 700 hours. m. The project proposes, as announced, a distance of 500 meters
– we read on the website money.pl.
The permitted distance of 700 meters was, as then Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and individual PiS politicians (including, in an interview with our website, MEP Bogdan Rzońca) presented the issue last year, a “compromise solution”.
If this compromise, namely 700 m, is maintained, this is an acceptable solution. So that no one is harmed and everything happens as agreed
– Rzońca noted in an interview with wPolityce.pl on January 28, 2023.
READ ALSO:
-What about the wind farm law? Prime Minister: The compromise of 700 meters is not bad. But the public interest and people’s concerns are also important
-ONLY HERE. Mill Act and a distance of 700 m? Rzońca: This provision is a compromise. The wolf will be full and the sheep will be whole
““Lex Kloska”
At the end of last year, when it became clear that after the parliamentary elections the bloc of previously opposition parties had won the majority, but even before the coalition government of December 13 was formed, information appeared about the so-called Mill Act. The project that outraged public opinion was the initiative of Paulina Hennig-Kloska, who (as a reward for starting the scandal in record-breaking fashion, before a government had been formed?) became Minister of Climate and Environment on December 13, 2023 .
What caused the controversy? The project actually appeared as an insert in the law that freezes energy prices until the end of 2024. The justification for the project shows that it allowed the construction of silent wind turbines at a distance of 300 meters from buildings. The authors of the project also proposed to expand the catalog of strategic investments to include wind farms, which means that it will not be necessary to analyze the compliance of their location with the local development plan.
The project also assumes that the distance from a wind farm to a national park or nature reserve is not less than 300 m. It is added that “a minimum distance of 300 m applies for the installation of new wind farms from areas with acoustic protection. introduced, even with quieter wind turbines.” than 100 dBA due to the size of these structures.
United Right MPs, who criticized the project, accused Hennig-Kloska, who became its ‘face’, of making it look not as if it had been written by MPs, but rather by lobbyists. In addition, MPs from the current opposition pointed out that the project provides for the possibility of expropriation of wind farms. For example, MP Borys Budka tried to defend the above-mentioned provision at the conference of November 30, 2023:
There is no expropriation of wind turbines, but no one will be able to block an investment if it is recognized as an investment for public purposes.
There will be an amendment specifying this distance, because not only will it be 500 meters from buildings, but a noise standard will also be introduced, so not only the distance, but also noise aspects, so that the windmill is ecological.
– announced the politician.
I wonder what “surprises” the December 13 coalition will offer us this time, and whether those responsible for those who fall into the unpleasant category will also face political consequences?
READ ALSO:
-A wave of outrage about the change in the wind farm law. Budka and Hennig-Kloska try to explain. ‘There is no expropriation’
-PiS MPs submit an application to the Public Prosecution Service and the Central Bureau for Combating Corruption. This is about the law on energy prices. “It is not written by the afterword. Which company is going to make money?”
aja/PAP, wPolityce.pl
Source: wPolityce
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.