Above ail, this also applied to the process of checking environmental compatibility, the purpose of which is to explore the effects of the construction and subséquent operation of wind turbines on ail existing utilisations and the marine eco System.
At that time, however, there was a complété lack of tried and
tested methods, not to mention guidelines. "We developed a
completely new application procedure in the Exclusive Economie
Zone", says Christian Dahlke, looking back on those pioneering
days. The man with a law degree joined the BSH in 1998 and until
2013 he was responsible for approving wind farms at sea. As the
Oepartment Manager, he was instrumental in introducing an approval process for offshore wind farms. "From a legal perspective,
the EEZ was a legal vacuum on the map quite simply because
no exclusive, fixed exploitation claims had been made in this
area until the wind energy sector made its desires known. And
moreover where there was no defence of other interests such as
fishing, shipping, military, aviation and, very importantly, nature
conservation which deals with the populations of seabirds and
porpoises."
In order to bring this legal vacuum to a close as quickly as possible, the BSH, under the leadership of Dahlke as the departmental head at that time, issued ail the players who had submitted applications for the construction of wind farms in the EEZ,
with nature conservation conditions.
"The hard part about the ecological investigation concepts as
part of an environmental impact study was the fact that we
weren't able to fall back on any precedents", says Dahlke underlining the challenges they faced at the time. To enable them to
follow the ecological issues with more understanding, the lawyer
and his department painstakingly studied the material on ornithology and marine mammals which was as complex as it was
extensive. He still grins to this day at the first application attempt for the project by the name of Butendiek that was to be
built around 32 kilométrés west of Sylt. "It just wasn't enough
what the initiators of the plan from Husum presented to start
with", Danlke remembers. "The applicants had to turn back and
work harder which they did to their crédit."
79
At that time, however, there was a complété lack of tried and
tested methods, not to mention guidelines. "We developed a
completely new application procedure in the Exclusive Economie
Zone", says Christian Dahlke, looking back on those pioneering
days. The man with a law degree joined the BSH in 1998 and until
2013 he was responsible for approving wind farms at sea. As the
Oepartment Manager, he was instrumental in introducing an approval process for offshore wind farms. "From a legal perspective,
the EEZ was a legal vacuum on the map quite simply because
no exclusive, fixed exploitation claims had been made in this
area until the wind energy sector made its desires known. And
moreover where there was no defence of other interests such as
fishing, shipping, military, aviation and, very importantly, nature
conservation which deals with the populations of seabirds and
porpoises."
In order to bring this legal vacuum to a close as quickly as possible, the BSH, under the leadership of Dahlke as the departmental head at that time, issued ail the players who had submitted applications for the construction of wind farms in the EEZ,
with nature conservation conditions.
"The hard part about the ecological investigation concepts as
part of an environmental impact study was the fact that we
weren't able to fall back on any precedents", says Dahlke underlining the challenges they faced at the time. To enable them to
follow the ecological issues with more understanding, the lawyer
and his department painstakingly studied the material on ornithology and marine mammals which was as complex as it was
extensive. He still grins to this day at the first application attempt for the project by the name of Butendiek that was to be
built around 32 kilométrés west of Sylt. "It just wasn't enough
what the initiators of the plan from Husum presented to start
with", Danlke remembers. "The applicants had to turn back and
work harder which they did to their crédit."
79