Very few new wind turbines
were installed in Germany,
in the first half of 2019 --
the lowest level since
the introduction of the
Renewable Energy Act
(EEG) in 2000.
Only 35 new
wind turbines
were installed,
with an output
of 231 megawatts --
a decline of 82%
versus an already
weak first half of 2018.
“On the one hand the Federal
Government speaks of its
achievement of ambitious
renewable expansion and
climate protection goals
for the years 2030 and 2050.
On the other hand,
the perspective
is missing,”
said Hermann Albers,
President of the German
Wind Energy Association (BWE):
“The discrepancy
between claim and
reality is growing.”
The federal government
plans to increase
renewable energy
used for electricity
from around 40% today,
to at least 65% in 2030.
In 2021 thousands
of wind turbines
come to the end
of the 20-year
subsidy period of the
Renewable Energy Act
-- so more wind turbines
will be demolished, on balance,
than new ones will be added,
the wind industry fears.
When that happens.
the government’s
green energy
climate targets
would fail.
Too low subsidies
for wind power
are not the cause
of wind turbine
growth decline.
The cause is mainly
the legal resistance
by wildlife and forest
conservationists, fighting
against new wind farms.
Over 70% of
legal objections
are based on
species conservation,
especially the threat
to endangered
bird species
and bats.
Complaints about ineffective
noise protection (17%) are also
leading to lawsuits against
new wind power projects.
Of the more than 1,350 megawatts
of wind power projects proposed
this year, only 746 megawatts
were able to move forward.
Local residents are protesting
the allowable minimum distance
to residential developments.
According to BWE figures,
11,000 megawatts
of wind energy capacity
are currently stuck
in the permit backlog.
Military concerns and
FM radio beacons are
significant approval
barriers too.
Wind power projects
would have to keep
a distance of 10 to 15
kilometers, in Germany,
to the stations used for
navigation in aviation.
Some neighboring states
allow half that distance.