Landscape and Policy in the North Sea Marshes

Publisher Summary This chapter deals with landscape and policy in the North Sea marshes. By the start of the present millennium, Germany had installed more wind generating capacity than any country in the world. Nationwide, wind turbines produced nearly 2 percent of the country's electricity. The growth of wind energy in Germany has occurred within the context of a strong desire to protect the environment. The most effective way to minimize landscape conflicts is to incorporate public views early in the design process, dedicating some areas to wind energy while excluding it from others. The chapter discusses the reasons for landscape protection and planning, the evaluation of turbine placement in northern Germany, as placing turbines in the landscape and keeping the public involved in the process are two of the most critical steps in the acceptance of wind power. In German landscape planning, evaluation is made for various purposes: an evaluation of the suitability of a landscape for a special use such as for tourism or for wind energy, an evaluation of the impacts on a landscape, because the German environmental law requires compensation for impacts on environmental and aesthetic values, and an evaluation of certain landscapes to determine the number and kind of flora and fauna, and to determine possible mitigation strategies.