German lawmakers have given the green light to a government proposal to speed up approvals for wind turbines and other industrial projects.
Out of 643 lawmakers, 377 voted in favour, 257 against and nine abstained.
The plan aims to allow certain facilities, including wind turbines, to be built or converted more quickly.
To this end, the Federal Immission Control Act will be amended. The law affects all installations that cause noise or have other potentially harmful effects on the environment. In addition to wind turbines, this also includes foundries, waste disposal plants and plants for the production of hydrogen.
Approval procedures are to be accelerated primarily through digitalization and the streamlining of procedural steps. The law is primarily intended to support the replacement of older wind turbines with new ones.
Daniel Rinkert, a Social Democrat (SPD) who was a key backer in parliament of the change, said that approval procedures will likely be shortened by an average of 10 months as a result.
Environmental standards would not be weakened by the simplified procedures, assured several members of parliament from the Greens and SPD during the almost 70-minute debate ahead of the vote.