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Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) has apologized for the incorrect calculations by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) on noise pollution from wind turbines.
"I am very sorry that wrong numbers were in the room for a long time," said Altmaier on Tuesday in Berlin.
The authority is subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Economics.
She stated the exposure to inaudible infrasound at 100 decibels instead of 64 decibels.
Altmaier said there were “worlds” between the BGR figures and “what is actually the case”.
He thinks "this process is very problematic".
He will make sure that he is cleared up.
The acceptance of wind turbines on land suffered “to a certain extent” from the wrong figures, said Altmaier.
He hopes that people who are very concerned about the effects of infrasound exposure on their health will now feel "some relief".
The BGR study, published for the first time in 2009, is often cited nationwide by opponents of wind power as evidence of health risks that wind power plants would pose.
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According to a report from “Zeit”, the BGR did not take into account deviating scientific findings for years.
The Erlangen physicist Martin Hundhausen spoke in the "Die Zeit" of a "systematic error" in the study by the authority, which it must have noticed long ago.
The authority has admitted its mistake.
It was due to incorrect programming in the calculation, the BGR told the newspaper.
New series of measurements on "modern wind turbines" are planned.