Planning · Site Check · 8 Criteria

Site Selection for Wind Turbines

Site selection determines 70% of project success. Thorough preliminary screening avoids permitting failure, economic shortfalls and construction delays. The 8 criteria for a structured site assessment.

Criterion 1 — Wind Resource

The single most important parameter. Mean wind speed at hub height determines yield and economic viability. Thresholds:

≥ 8 m/s — top site (coast, ridgelines)
7.0–8.0 m/s — good site (northern Germany inland)
6.0–7.0 m/s — standard, low-wind turbine required
< 6.0 m/s — economically critical

Data sources: on-site measurement, DWD Federal Wind Atlas, MERRA-2, ERA5.

Criterion 2 — Minimum Setback Distance to Residential Areas

State regulation + TA Lärm (Technical Instructions on Noise) protection distance. At many sites the limiting factor — the Setback Checker (DE) provides an indication. Typically 600–1,500 m depending on federal state and area type.

Criterion 3 — Protected Areas in the Vicinity

FFH/SPA (Natura 2000) sites: 0 m tolerance, often 3+ km distance to conservation objectives required
Nature reserves: generally an exclusion zone
Landscape protection areas: exemption possible but risky
Priority zones in regional planning: positive signal

Criterion 4 — Species Protection Conflicts

Raptor nest search within a 6 km radius (red kite 1.5 km close range, black stork 3 km). First through existing data from state nature conservation authorities, then dedicated surveys (DE).

Criterion 5 — Site Access

Access roads: load-bearing capacity for 50-t trucks + 60-m heavy transport vehicles, minimum width 4 m
Crane pad: 1,500–2,500 m² levelled per turbine
Cable route: to the grid connection point, 50,000–100,000 EUR per kilometre

Criterion 6 — Grid Connection

Existing transformer substation within 5 km desirable
Grid operator preliminary enquiry ("grid connection request") to be obtained — 4–8 weeks
Connection voltage 20 kV (medium voltage) or 110 kV (high voltage)
Medium-voltage connection costs: typically 500,000–1,500,000 EUR per wind farm

Criterion 7 — Building Planning Law

The site must comply with § 35 BauGB (Federal Building Code, section on outer areas):

Outer area (not in inner/contiguous development area)
Concentration zone per land-use plan or WaLG relaxation in effect
No conflicting public interests

Criterion 8 — Ownership / Lease

Ownership or renewable lease agreements with all landowners
Access rights for road and cable routes
Lease payments at market rate: 6–10% of revenue (often combined with a fixed component)

Site pre-screening sequence: First check the knock-out criteria (protected areas, setback distances, building planning law) — if there is a hard stop here, everything else is irrelevant. Only then assess wind resource + economics in detail.

8 site selection criteria for wind turbines: knock-out criteria (protected areas, minimum setback, building planning law, species protection) and optimisation criteria (wind resource, grid connection, site access, ownership/lease) — screening sequence: knock-out first, then optimisation

8 site criteria — check knock-out criteria first, then optimisation

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a site pre-screening take?

2–4 weeks for the desktop analysis of all knock-out criteria. Reliable wind data take considerably longer (3–12 months of measurement or long-term correlation).

What does it cost?

Desktop pre-screening 5,000–15,000 EUR. With long-term wind correlation + desktop noise assessment + species protection preliminary review 25,000–50,000 EUR.

Who decides when criteria conflict?

The applicant — typically in consultation with the responsible permitting authority and, in the case of repowering, the municipality. Where economics are marginal, trying a second site often makes more sense than forcing the issue.