The environment ministry blamed three main factors for the slower progress: overestimates of how much CO2 would be saved under existing plans, faster-than-expected economic growth and a faster-growing population than forecast.

Energy Policy Germany

Government plans to end advantage for bids from citizen groups; Commercial developers complained unfunded bidders had an edge

Energy Policy Germany

It is not always possible to continue operating old systems. In some cases the turbines must be dismantled. About 28,000 wind turbines are spinning under the German sky - much of them operating since the late nineties. Currently, the wind industry faces major challenges: With the expiration of the eligibility for subsidies under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) after 20 years, the operators have to decide whether the older plants should be decommissioned, dismantled, repowered or continue to operate as before. Under current conditions, this will impact approximately four gigawatts of wind project output nationwide according to estimates by the Institute for Integrated Production Hannover (IPH). In the future, an additional 2.4 gigawatts of EEG funding will be eliminated on average per year.

General Germany

The damaged turbine at the Alpha Ventus offshore wind farm is set to be repaired with a replacement nacelle.

Offshore Wind Safety Structural Failure Germany

Wind turbine between Löcknitz and Rossow in Germany bursts into flames. Cause possibly due to a lightning strike.

Safety Structural Failure Germany

Koch proposes shutting down wind turbines at times when bats' migration path puts them at risk from the huge, rotating blades. But if bat protection is to be taken into consideration when designing policy – on wind energy development, forestry, agriculture and the use of pesticides – solid data is essential.

Impact on Bats Germany

The damage at the offshore wind farm, "Alpha Ventus", located about 45 kilometers from Borkum, is considerably more serious than initially known. At the beginning of April not only did the plastic covering crash 90 meters into the sea, but half of the nacelle fell off as well. Experts are now investigating whether it is a single incident or possibly serial damage. More than 120 turbines of this type are installed in the North Sea.

Safety Structural Failure Offshore Wind Germany

A rear part of a nacelle panel on one of the Adwen M5000 (AD 5-116) wind turbines installed on the Alpha Ventus wind farm in the German North Sea has broken off and fell into the sea, the operator of the wind farm reports. The accident happened on Friday, 06 April. 

Offshore Wind Germany

Nordex said that while sales in Germany were expected to slump by nearly two thirds this year, volumes would recover from 2020, with traders citing this positive mid-term outlook.

General Germany

The citizens group, Gegenwind Borchen, shows on its website photos of fiberglass parts of shredded turbine blades scattered several hundred meters away. The fragments are from an Enercon E-115 turbine that experienced a catastrophic failure within days of the turbine being erected. The mayor of Borchen, Reiner Allerdissen, called for an immediate halt to construction at the facility until the cause of the failure is known. The turbine stands about 200 meters (656 feet) high.

Safety Structural Failure Germany

The cause of the accident is currently under investigation. Mayor calls for construction freeze 

Safety Structural Failure Germany

A working group of the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery of Medicine caused a stir at the congress of the professional society with their research on the impairment of the heart muscle by wind turbine infrasound. In this interview, the lead researcher explains that wind turbine infrasound can reduce the force of cardiac muscle contractions, under certain conditions, by up to 20 percent.

Impact on People Germany

Baake, a Green Party politician whose appointment by then economy minister Sigmar Gabriel was a surprise at the time, criticised the new government’s energy and climate plans in a resignation letter ...The plans for the energy transition (Energiewende) in the new coalition agreement were a “bitter disappointment”, Baake wrote to incoming energy and economy minister Peter Altmaier.

Energy Policy Germany

Germany’s would-be coalition partners have agreed to drop plans to lower carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020, sources familiar with negotiations said on Monday -- a potential embarrassment for Chancellor Angela Merkel.

General Germany

Unreliable solar and wind power in Germany cause more and higher electricity costs for the power grid. 

Impact on Economy Energy Policy Germany

A wind turbine lies in a field after it collapsed during storm 'Burglind' in Volksdorf near Hanover, Germany. The 70-meter tower collapse happened on Wednesday, Jan. 3 2018 after parts of the rotor had broken. Nobody was injured.

Safety Structural Failure Germany

The wholesale costs of power make up only about a fifth of the average household electricity bill in Germany. The rest is a stew of taxes, fees to finance renewable-energy investments and charges for use of the grid. That means their bills are lower than they otherwise would be, because power prices are sometimes negative, but utilities are not depositing money in customers’ bank accounts.

Impact on Economy Taxes & Subsidies Germany

In the year that ended, electricity was more expensive than ever before - and at the beginning of the year prices are still rising, according to the "Handelsblatt" newspaper. The newspaper relied on a recent analysis of the consumer porta, Verivox.

Impact on Economy Energy Policy Germany

The risk that German onshore wind could collapse over the next three to four years, endangering the aim to achieve 40-45% of gross electricity consumption from renewables by 2025, prompted the BNA to trigger a rescue clause in the 2017 renewable energy act.

General Germany

The Ruhwarders are protesting against the wind farm. They know that it is long past due to protest but hope that the situation can at least be improved. Ruhwarder citizens believe theor lives have been degraded since the new wind farm in Düke was placed in service. The operator is open to discussions - and promises to improve.

Impact on People Noise Germany