Germany's wind power ramp up hits surprise snag

STORY: Germany's wind power expansion faces an unexpected roadblock.

Builders need permits to transport the heavy turbines down the country's roads, and they're waiting months to get them.

There is a backlog of more than 15,000 applications for approvals, and companies now say their projects are heavily delayed.

They say the costs of storing major components is running into the millions, while permits are also much more expensive than before.

Transport permits are needed to drive heavy loads over bridges and highways.

Sometimes structures and road signs need dismantling, and police escorts are needed for some loads.

Others can only be sent at night.

Germany aims to get 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, with a lot of that from onshore wind.

It's putting pressure on the government to speed things up.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

"Faster means that we create a contact point for heavy transports on motorways so that the rotor blades for wind turbines and many other things can be transported better. Faster means simply waiving some approval deadlines so that fibre optic lines can get to the users."

Processing each permit will take up to three months in Germany.

That compares with an average of two to three weeks in the Netherlands and around 10 days in Denmark.

The government-owned company Autobahn said it was doing everything to speed up the process.

But it warned examining the transport of rotor blades was demanding due to their extraordinary length.

It said a nationwide, standardized and largely automated process should be in place by the end of the year.