AFP, Berlin :
Wind power is a key pillar in Germany’s ambitious renewables transition plan, but the sector has struck strong resistance, forcing the Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to open talks on the crisis on Thursday.
After years of breakneck growth in capacity and uptake that has seen wind power delivering a fifth of Germany’s total energy production, vocal “not-in-my-backyard” opposition by residents and a lack of government support have seen investments shrink in the sector.
More than 600 citizen initiatives have sprung up against the giant installations, with a district called Saale-Orla even offering 2,000 euros to anyone taking action to get expert opinions opposing wind farms.
The far-right AfD party, branding itself as the climate-sceptic outfit, had seized on the topic during state elections in Brandenburg, saying it stands by residents steamrollered by wind energy corporations.
Against the backdrop of bitter division, expansion in Germany’s wind power production capacity plunged in 2018 to half that in 2017 as companies struggled to obtain permission to build.
And only a few dozen new turbines were installed since the beginning of this year, down 82 percent from a year ago, said Germany’s Wind Energy Association (BWE).
And repeatedly every quarter, official tenders for electricity production have returned undersubscribed-a “worrying” trend, said the Federal Network Agency.
“With regard to the expansion of onshore wind power, Germany has moved from the fast to the breakdown lane,” said Achim Derck, president of the German Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK).
For BWE president Hermann Albers, the implication is clear-“this development calls into question the success of Germany’s energy transition.”
