The government is now ready with an economic carrot that will make it attractive for municipalities to make room for solar cells and wind turbines in the landscape.
In a new proposal, the SVM government proposes an annual pool of 200 million kroner to be distributed among the municipalities that contribute the most to the expansion. Money that the municipalities can use for whatever they want. But the question is how many will get a share of the millions.
If you look at where many wind turbines and solar cells have been built on land, there are a handful of municipalities that are reoccurring in the numbers. When it comes to wind turbines, it is especially in West Jutland and on Lolland, says Kristian Jensen, director of Green Power Denmark.
- When it comes to solar cells, there are also other municipalities such as Aabenraa and Randers that are far ahead. Of course, in our eyes, the municipalities should - in our opinion - get a financial pat on the back for taking on this task, he says.
The organization representing the energy sector believes that the pool can speed up the 1,000 wind turbine applications that are in municipalities.
- I think that the municipalities getting a financial carrot for processing them could be crucial for us to speed up the installation of more renewable energy, says Kristian Jensen.
Ringkøbing-Skjern, Holstebro and Thisted are in the top five municipalities with the largest capacity of solar cells and wind turbines on land. The former, where Hans Østergaard (V) is mayor, is clearly number one. This is where the money would be warm, he says.
- We have enough holes (in the municipal coffers, ed.) that we can use the money on. But the biggest and most important argument for creating such a pool is to keep us - in the eyes of the beholder - harmless, it says.
He says that money has been spent on administration to get the many plants up and running - and therefore it has not been able to be used elsewhere.
Criticism from KL
KL, which represents the country's municipalities, is strongly critical of the way the government will finance the model. The money is to come from what is called the block grant. It is the state's annual grant to the 98 municipalities, which is distributed between them.
Therefore, it is proposed to "feed the dog with its own tail", as Birgit S. Hansen (S), chairman of KL's Climate and Environment Committee, puts it. She is also the mayor of Frederikshavn Municipality.
- This means that the money that some municipalities are supposed to receive as a bonus is taken from other municipalities, which then have to cut welfare.
She also fears that the bonus model could have the effect of stalling the expansion of renewable energy in the coming years. It is only planned that it will come into effect from 2026, and therefore it makes sense to wait, the reasoning goes. How the specific model will end up working out is unclear.
Municipalities with a lot of renewable energy already must share in the funds
According to Avisen Danmark, the government will take into account municipalities where many solar cells and wind turbines have already been built in the distribution. The pool is to help ensure competition between municipalities, Minister of Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard (M) has told the newspaper.
- So it's not just 4-5 municipalities that are participating. I would guess that it's more like around 30 municipalities we're talking about here.
In Ringkøbing-Skjern, Mayor Hans Østergaard (V) hopes that it's not just municipalities with newly built facilities that will be catered for.
- We're in the process of planning further moves on the agenda, so I think we'll be catered for at some level. But I think it would be appropriate if we got a small prize for what we've already done, he says.
/ritzau/
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