Berlin, 12. January 2022 – The TÜV Association welcomes the acceleration of the energy transition announced by Economics Minister Robert Habeck. Greater consideration should be given to safety aspects in order to increase public acceptance of the measures. "The expansion of wind energy must be accelerated in order to drive forward the energy turnaround and to be able to achieve the national climate targets. An important factor in this context is the safety of existing turbines and those to be newly built," said Dirk Stenkamp, President of the TÜV Association, at the TÜV Meetup "Coalition Agreement in Climate Check." "Particularly against the background of accelerated planning and approval procedures and a necessary repeal of existing distance regulations, aspects of safety must be given greater consideration in order to protect people and nature and increase public confidence." Again and again, there are serious wind turbine accidents with fires, falling rotor blades or buckling towers. The TÜV association has long been calling for uniform national rules for independent testing of wind turbines, shorter testing intervals and a reassessment of the test points. To strengthen technical safety, the TÜV Association supports the political recommendation to set up a round table. In addition to the federal and state governments, this should primarily involve the local authorities and the industry associations concerned. Stenkamp: "The energy transition must be implemented locally. This requires coordination between all parties involved."
Safety must also play a central role in expanding the infrastructure for the supply of hydrogen. "Hydrogen is a great opportunity for climate protection and for Germany as a business location," said Stenkamp. "That's why we must do everything we can to ensure safety along the entire value chain, from production to storage and transport to the use of hydrogen." To do this, he said, the existing legal framework must be revised and new norms and standards developed as needed. Qualified specialists are necessary for this. "We need to strengthen vocational and university training in hydrogen and invest in in-service training."