German govt seeks to resolve wind power dispute with states

BERLIN (AP) — The German government has unveiled a bill to resolve a long-running dispute between federal authorities and the country’s 16 states over where to build land-based wind power plants. Some German states have bristled at proposals that would require them to set aside at least 1.4% of their surface for wind parks by 2026 and 2% by 2032. The states argue that some citizens don’t want the facilities near homes. The compromise bill announced on Wednesday would give states some flexibility to build fewer wind power plants if they can get other states to agree to build more, including by paying them. Europe’s biggest economy aims to produce electricity only from renewable sources by 2035.