In an urgent decision, the Administrative Court of Justice (VGH) in Mannheim has once again emphasised the paramount importance of the expansion of renewable energies when weighing up decisions (Section 2 EEG). It thus rejected the urgent application by an environmental association against the approval for the construction of three wind turbines (case no.: 14 S 125/25 of 22 April 2025).

The latter had attempted to invalidate the overriding public interest in wind energy in accordance with Section 2 EEG by referring to „regenerative yield losses“. The VGH has now stated that such objections are not irrelevant from the outset because the construction and operation of renewable energy plants are not privileged per se under Section 2 EEG, but only because of their contribution to a greenhouse gas-neutral energy supply. However, any measure aimed at further expanding the use of renewable energies serves to protect the climate. Furthermore, the construction and operation of wind turbines is based on private investment decisions, which are also orientated towards the public funding regime and therefore guarantee a relevant contribution to a climate-neutral energy supply. Restrictions in the overriding public interest are therefore only permissible in the case of clearly recognisable, obvious planning errors.