FAQs on wind energy

Yes, the landowner can still farm the land during the land leasing agreement with no effect on current farm practices. Livestock will be also able to graze in and around the wind turbines.

The area excluded from existing agricultural development is only the space near the wind turbine mast (up to 40 a) and access roads.

The land lease duration lasts 30 years. An investor can’t acquire the land by adverse possession, it is not only due to law regulation but also it's included in our land lease agreement.

The steps to development of the project generally last not less than 5 years and are outlined below:

• agreement on lease arrangements,
• environmental survey work and preparation of EIA and planning application, including bird and bats monitoring,
• wind conditions audit,
• adoption of a local spatial development plan,
• obtaining grid connection arrangements, 
• obtaining construction permission.

Typically, about 12 months.

Yes. The land lease agreement does not affect the possibility of transferring the land to children or grandchildren.

The investor pays tax on the property occupied for wind turbines. The land occupation takes place after obtaining a final permit for the construction of the wind farm.

Contract terms for wind farms are generally 30 years, at which point the installation will be dismantled. Following the law and the provisions of the contract, the responsibility for restoring the site to its previous state of use has been placed on the investor.

80-90% of the components comprising a turbine - the metal-containing turbine parts, the entire electrical system and the

foundations and tower (steel, copper, aluminum, and concrete components) can be returned to established recycling cycles. There are also plentiful disposal routes for the rotor blades, which consist of composite materials.

According to the new wind energy law (Dz.U. z 2023 r. poz. 553), the minimum distance of a wind turbine from residential buildings is 700 m.

This is the distance measured from the tip of the turbine's rotor blade, which means that most often the minimum distance from homes to the foundation of the power plant will be about 780 m.

It is also worth noting that the location of wind turbines is also conditioned by permissible levels of noise in the environment specified in the relevant regulation of the Minister of the Environment. So it may happen that in an area with very low roughness (no trees, buildings, or other objects, etc.) the distance of the turbine from the nearest residential building will be even longer.

The global renewable energy transition is essential to the future of our planet.

Replacing conventional power plants with wind and solar power plants promotes climate protection.

Wind turbines do not emit greenhouse gases and other harmful compounds into the atmosphere as do the burning of fossil fuels. Wind power is therefore climate-friendly and reduces the negative impact of human activities on the environment.

For example, the BayWa r.e.’s wind farm in Invercycle, Scotland with a capacity of 24 MW, produces annually that amount of electricity that saves 18,000 tons of CO₂ emissions (this is the amount of CO₂ would have been produced if the energy had been generated in a coal-fired power plant rather than a wind farm). Another example can be a 30 MW wind farm in Kamionka, West Pomeranian Voivodeship. That wind farm produces emission-free energy that can supply more than 27,000 households with clean electricity.

Wind energy holds many benefits for the environment and biodiversity. BayWa r.e. plans and designs the wind farms in a way that respects the environment.

BayWa r.e. prevents impacts by adequately planning, siting, and designing wind farms. Before the construction of all our projects, we talk to local residents, bird specialists and we look at all the potential impacts of a wind farm and its infrastructure. We are committed to protecting the natural environment (wildlife and plant life) where we develop our projects.

We plan compensatory measures, e.g., appropriate plantings that increase biodiversity (for example the number of bees and other pollinators), which is particularly important in areas that are intensively used for agriculture and are species-poor.

It’s true that some bird deaths may be caused by turbines, but it’s important to set this impact in context. In Germany, the main causes of death for birds per year are: glass panes account for up to 115 million, traffic - for about 70 million, and domestic cats for as many as 60 million birds. Extensively developed wind energy in Germany is responsible for the deaths of up to 100,000 birds per year.

Each potential wind project site is monitored in detail prior to project implementation to exclude the presence and passage of bird species of particular importance, and to determine the most optimal location of the turbines in terms of birds and bats. BayWa r.e. cooperates with independent experts - ornithologists and chiropterologists, whose findings are verified by specialized authorities such as the Regional Directorate of Environmental Protection.

After the construction of the wind farm, in turn, post-implementation monitoring is performed. Caring for the environment and the number of birds, various methods are also used to deter birds approaching the turbine (light and sound technologies).

It's the rotor blade rotation that creates noise, but these noise levels are strictly governed and subject to defined limits (in Poland - Regulation of the Minister of Environment on permissible levels of noise in the environment).

The turbines are programmed so that if these limits are likely to be exceeded, they automatically go into noise-reduced operation.

What’s important at an early stage of project development, the model of noise propagation in the environment is carried out, considering the most favorable conditions for sound wave propagation. Due to this, we can determine a safe buffer verified individually for every location and chosen turbine model.

Wind turbines cast shadows due to the movement of the rotor blades, depending on the position of the sun, although modern turbines have a significantly lower speed compared to smaller, older turbines. Wind turbines are subject to precisely defined limit values.

It should also be noted that this effect is only observable at the right angle of sunlight (more often in winter, in sunny weather). The effect is visible at up to 500 meters at most.

Today, wind farms are an established part of the landscape in many regions. People have become used to seeing them and accept them as part of the landscape. Municipalities that use renewable energy like wind power are perceived as progressive even in tourist regions.

Valuable natural and scenic areas are excluded from the possibility of locating wind turbines. Power plants are usually built in areas used for industrial or agricultural purposes.

Municipalities implementing wind projects in their area undoubtedly derive high revenues from taxes for the location of turbines in their area. There are opportunities for residents to participate in and benefit financially from our wind farm projects. A virtual prosumer program is being implemented in Poland, in which residents can purchase shares in the installed capacity of a wind farm and derive real benefits from the sale of clean green energy.

We want to engage local communities and gain their support, which is why we make every effort to cooperate with individual municipalities to develop an action plan that reflects local needs. These are often activities improving the quality of local roads, educational projects for residents, nature conservation and social projects, or promoting the commune among international investors.

Yes of course. BayWa r.e. is an experienced developer of wind projects. We guarantee transparency at all stages of the investment. We maintain contact with the local community starting from the early stages of project implementation - e.g. public consultations during the adoption of local development plans or obtaining environmental decisions. We organize not only meetings with residents planned as part of administrative procedures but also less formal ones, e.g. information stands during local events (including municipal harvest festivals).

We provide comprehensive development and project management, offering our clients full support at every stage project life cycle. Starting from consulting at the stage of pre-feasibility and technical planning, through land leasing, permit management and turnkey installation construction, we continue the entire process through to launch and operational support as a trusted partner.

We are also able to carry out operation and appropriate maintenance of the wind farm.

As a global developer of renewable energy, BayWa r.e. has already completed more than 140 wind projects with about 2.4 GW of installed capacity. The company has 30 years of experience in implementing wind projects around the world, in recent years, in addition to onshore projects, BayWa r.e. has also realized offshore wind farms. BayWa r.e. has the qualifications and know-how to organize the entire investment process from initial planning and development to financing and construction.