Article

2019-11-01 Europe

Germany's Giant Windmills Are Wildly Unpopular

[Bloomberg] Despite their surging popularity in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, the Greens did badly in last Sunday's election in the German state of Thuringia, and the nationalists from the Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) did very well. An important reason is that the Greens support wind energy and the AfD militates against wind turbines. The giant windmills have grown so unpopular in neighboring communities that their construction in Germany has all but ground to a halt.

There are nearly 30,000 wind turbines in Germany, more than anywhere else in Europe. Only China and the U.S., both much bigger countries, have more. Germany gets 23.5% of its energy from wind this year; it’s the biggest source of renewable energy for the country. But in the first half of 2019, only 35 wind turbines were added ‐ an 82% drop compared with the first six months of 2018. Last year was bad, too: Just 743 turbines were added, compared with 1,792 in 2017.

This is happening because it’s getting harder to get permission to erect the turbine towers. Local regulations are getting stricter. Bavaria decided back in 2014 that the distance between a wind turbine and the nearest housing must be 10 times the height of the mast, which, given the density of dwellings, makes it hard to find a spot anywhere. Wind energy development is practically stalled in the state now. Brandenburg, the state surrounding Berlin, passed a law this year demanding that wind-farm operators pay 10,000 euros ($11,100) per turbine each year to communities within 3 kilometers of the windmills.

Wind projects are also often rejected or stalled because they’re deemed to interfere with military communications, air traffic control or broadcast radio stations.
AND Avian Wildlife

Posted by Besoeker 2019-11-01 04:24|| || Front Page|| [11132 views ] Top

#1 I still can't wrap my head around the term "renewable energy". How is it different from non-renewable energy. Once it is used up, energy has to to be renewed from a higher source of energy.

Posted by AlmostAnonymous5839 2019-11-01 08:38|| 2019-11-01 08:38|| Front Page Top

#2 kinda like organic food labels. it's the name that sells

Posted by chris 2019-11-01 12:37|| 2019-11-01 12:37|| Front Page Top

#3 They are only unpopular where they are ;-)

Posted by European Conservative 2019-11-01 14:43|| 2019-11-01 14:43|| Front Page Top

#4 I'm waiting for the study to determine the impact of these turbines sucking all the energy out of the wind, thus contributing to man-made global climate change. Turbines don't make energy, they only take it from somewhere else.

Posted by Bobby at the kids place 2019-11-01 14:55|| 2019-11-01 14:55|| Front Page Top

#5 "You don't want nuclear, you don't want gas. What are you planning to use - firewood?" - Vladimir Putin to Merkel.

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2019-11-01 15:15|| 2019-11-01 15:15|| Front Page Top

#6 Are the windmills made of wood? Maybe they can do like Vlad says and use them for firewood.

Posted by Abu Uluque 2019-11-01 16:07|| 2019-11-01 16:07|| Front Page Top

14:34 Frank G
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