Minimum distances for wind turbines: A robustness analysis of policies for a sustainable wind power deployment

The deployment of wind power is a major contribution to the decarbonisation of societies. Yet, wind turbines can cause some negative externalities to humans and nature. These largely depend on the spatial allocation of the wind turbines. Therefore the question is how to design policies that minimise the social costs of wind power generation which are defined as the sum of production and external costs. An instrument which is used in Germany and elsewhere to control the externalities of wind turbines is the prescription of minimum distances to sensitive landscape features like human settlements and bird nests. The efficient (i.e. minimising social costs) magnitude of such minimum distances, however, depends on uncertain parameters. We apply a robustness analysis to an ecological-economic model for the assessment of the social costs of wind power deployment in order to identify policies, each defined by certain minimum distances, which are favourable within wide ranges of various uncertain parameters. In the examined study region in Germany, rather large minimum distances to nests of the red kite (a raptor bird) and moderate minimum distances to settlements turn out to be most favourable taken the considered uncertainties into account.