Hungary will amend its legislation on wind turbines

Hungarian Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyas said that Hungary will amend its legislation on wind turbines, which has been blocking the development of wind projects for years.

According to Minister Gulyas, the distance requirements between wind turbines and settlement areas will be reduced, without disclosing any details regarding the planned amendments.

In 2016, the Hungarian Parliament passed a law that banned wind turbines within a radius of 12 kilometers from populated areas. In practice, this left no area in Hungary where it would be possible to build wind farms.

In November, the European Commission said in its assessment of Hungary’s Recovery and Resilience Plan that it includes a comprehensive package of measures on energy, with significant reforms and investments promoting renewable energy. For example, it includes reforms that will remove significant regulatory bottlenecks for the deployment of wind turbines, create special areas in the windiest regions and improve the permit granting procedures for renewable energy projects.