Air sports club against wind power: Court stops the air traffic lawsuit!

Air sports club against wind power: Court stops the air traffic lawsuit!

The Aero-Club Schwarzheide Air Sports Association recently submitted an urgent application against the approval of a wind power project in Schipkau, which was rejected by the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court on Wednesday. According to rbb24 , the court found that the association lacks the legal basis to contest the wind turbine. The Aero Club argued that the planned wind turbine would endanger security in air traffic, primarily for the glider pilots who once used the former airfield in the region.

This argument was not heard in the judges. The court pointed out that flight operations were already terminated after the lease for the airfield in 2024 was terminated by the municipalities of Schipkau and Schwarzheide. This decision was part of a plan to release the area for industrial use, which was decided in November 2023.

wind turbine and legal aspects

The planned wind turbine in Schipkau has a height of more than 360 meters and is intended to deliver up to 3.8 megawatts of electricity - a value that exceeds the performance of conventional systems. Approval for the wind turbine was granted in December 2024 by the State Office for the Environment Brandenburg. The wind turbine commissioning is expected in the summer of 2025. Despite the contradiction of the Aero club, this has no legally suspensive effect, which means that the construction work can continue, despite the concerns of the association, which counts around 85 members.

The legal framework for wind turbines such as the planned project in Schipkau are defined in the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG). An approval process is necessary if wind turbines reach a height of more than 50 meters. The aim of this procedure is to avoid possible harmful environmental effects and ensure that no other public law issues are opposed. The specialist agency Wind/Solar also indicates that important aspects such as immission protection, nature and species protection as well as building authority are taken into account.

The decision of the Higher Administrative Court and the associated rejection of the urgent application of the Aero Club illustrate the challenges that local associations are facing when it comes to implementing renewable energies. Despite these hurdles, the pressure on the municipalities and the decision -makers remain high in promoting the expansion of wind energy, especially in view of the strategic environmental exams that offer relief in the approval process until June 30, 2025.

The ongoing developments in Schipkau will make a light on the complex interactions between nature conservation, air traffic and wind energy, which will have to be discussed even further in the future.