More climate protection is only possible with market-based incentives. The World Climate Conference in Glasgow has already demonstrated this with the specification of CO2 trading, and now the new German government can follow suit. "In order to be able to develop and build on more land for wind and solar farms more quickly, local authorities must benefit", says Markus W. Voigt, CEO of the aream Group. "This could be a turning point."

The new German government has set ambitious goals for the availability of green power. "At the top of the list of measures is also the acceleration of approval procedures", says Voigt. "For this, however, it is urgently necessary to first convince the municipalities of the importance of such plants." Those who make land available should also benefit accordingly. "In recent years or decades, municipalities have too often been lured by the prospect of rising tax revenues", says Voigt. "And the municipalities too rarely have really benefited, because the plants don't generate particularly high yields in the first few years and offer correspondingly low tax revenues." 

Since the middle of the year, the EEG offers the opportunity to let municipalities participate in the revenues with up to 0.2 cents per kilowatt hour fed into the grid in case the ground-mounted photovoltaic plants have been erected on their territory. "These payments, which are to be contractually defined, create the financial incentive for municipalities to designate areas for photovoltaics, as the municipalities can freely dispose of the amount and there is no earmarking", says Voigt.

But other forms of participation are also necessary and desirable, he added. They would also be welcomed by investors if project planning times can be shortened as a result. For example, it is quite conceivable to open up projects to citizen participation or to allow municipalities to get involved as well. "Many municipalities are striving for climate neutrality", says Voigt. "Then it only makes sense to start with renewables right on the doorstep." Typically, the parks in a community generate much more electricity than there is local demand for. "Communities can supply themselves and their citizens with green power and additionally share in the surplus", Voigt says.

The important thing is that there is a vested interest in the municipalities that is also visible to the citizens. "It's market-based incentives throughout that can drive climate change", Voigt says. "Of course, everything can be regulated, steered, banned, but the task is, after all, to mobilize as much private capital as possible for the climate goals." In the participation of municipalities and their citizens in the proceeds of the energy transition lies the opportunity of reaching a turning point. "Especially rural areas with a lot of space and relatively few inhabitants benefit disproportionately - and thus strengthen the rural area as an energy producer", says Voigt.
ing point."