WindEurope, the European wind energy association, is urging the Polish government to amend regulations surrounding the distances between wind farms and houses to a minimum of 500 meters. The current “10H” rule, which was introduced in 2016, effectively excludes 98% of Polish territory from new onshore wind farm developments by mandating that the distance between a wind turbine and housing must be 10 times the height of the turbine's tip. This translates to roughly 2 kilometers for modern onshore wind turbines.
The Polish government has proposed a new regulation that would relax the 10H rule, setting a minimum distance of 500 meters between wind turbines and houses. WindEurope supports this change, which aligns with regulations in other European countries. “The Polish Parliament must not mess up the 10H revision if it is serious about energy security. The minimum distance between housing and wind turbines must be 500 meters,” said WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson. “Anything higher and Poland will struggle to meet its renewables targets and will remain more exposed than it wants to energy imports.”
Under the proposed rules, developers will also be required to offer at least 10% of the energy produced by each new wind farm to local communities. WindEurope estimates that reducing the minimum setback distance to 500 meters will also generate additional revenue of €100m-€200m for local municipalities and boost the Polish economy. The changes to the 10H regulation are expected to be adopted at the next working session of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, on January 25th and 26th.
