In Germany, the energy company RWE dismantled one of the 8 wind turbines of the Keienberg park in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia to expand the Garzweiler coal mine (open pit).
The authorities called on RWE to abandon its plans after environmental activists called the rollback of the energy transition during a climate disaster a betrayal and absurdity, reports The Guardian.
The wind farm is located about 1 km from the Garzweiler quarry.
2 more wind turbines are planned to be dismantled at the beginning and end of 2023. Eco-activists believe that the move symbolizes the reversal of the government's plans to protect the climate.
A representative of Energiekontor, the owner of the wind farm, said that the time limit on its operating permit means that the wind turbines are expected to be dismantled by the end of 2023.
RWE representative Guido Steffen said the dismantling of the wind turbines was part of the original agreement that allowed the construction of the wind farm in 2001, and not the result of a recent change in Germany's energy policy.
The article noted that in September 2022, the German government passed a resolution to restore active lignite capacity by next summer to increase supplies as Russian gas imports through the Nord Stream1 gas pipeline stopped.
Built more than 20 years ago, the turbines at the small Keyenberg wind farm are less powerful than modern equivalents, each producing about 1 GWh of energy, about one-sixth the power of a more efficient modern turbine.
"Since wind farms in Germany are no longer eligible for subsidies after 20 years of operation, the park would probably have been upgraded with new technology or liquidated, even if not for the nearby mine," the article says.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy called on RWE to suspend its plans to dismantle the wind farm.
Environmental activists said the turbine's dismantling symbolized the government's backtracking on its climate pledges as it turned to fossil fuels and coal in the face of a looming energy crisis. They accused the Green Party of betraying their cause.
"Our region is being devastated, the climate is out of control - and now wind turbines are being dismantled to get more coal," said Alexandra Brüne from the local initiative Alle Dörfer Bleiben.
The material noted that during his winning campaign for the elections to the German federal parliament, Scholz said that new wind farms could be built in six months, not six years. But as of October 21, 2022, it still takes an average of 23 months to submit a wind farm planning application in Germany.
The German Wind Energy Association estimates that around 10,000 MW of electricity from renewable sources is stuck in the administrative process.
"These projects must be quickly approved before the end of the year so that the expansion can gain new dynamism in the coming years," said the association's executive director, Wolfram Axtelm.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that Germany will restore the operation of 16 inactive power plants, which run on fossil fuels, and to extend the operating permit for 11 more.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, in Germany they want to save natural gas and expand the use of coal to ensure the operation of power plants.
