Wind Generators

I noticed in Hessen news this morning, via HR (our regional public TV network) a piece on wind energy and the continuing negative saga on expansion of the wind generators. 

For all of 2019, only four new additional wind generators were placed within the state of Hessen (equaling 14 megawatts of power).  What's generally happened?  A lot of public push-back has occurred, with various communities now opposed to approving local farmland for the generators. 

For 2018, they added 232 megawatts of wind-power....so you can see the trend in a harsh and negative way.

Counter-push-back from the state and federal folks?  Well, there is some going on and they'd like to restrict local regions from the ability to restrict or forbid wind-generators.

If you look over 2020....there's speculation going on for the past few months (various sources) that the renovation cycle or new generator placement.....will go to a limited scale. 

This brings you to the promise of the state and federal folks to reach some goal of the national grid being carbon-free, and the promise might not occur. 

It's a touchy subject in some towns and villages.  It won't matter if you vote SPD, Green, or CDU.....if some state or federal folks pushed back and forced you to accept three wind-generators on the edge of your town, it'd trigger hostile feelings. 

Why they can't find satisfactory locations? 

This goes to three essential problems:

1.  You need a valley or area where wind is reviewed, and you can be sure of adequate flow throughout the year. 

2.  There are various groups now (particularly in Hessen), which have a serious view on the wind-generators being on hillsides facing a populated area.  'Spoiled' landscape is now uttered, if you throw three generators on a hill overlooking two or three villages.  Amusing as it sounds, it's a active program to oppose placement.

3.  Finally, you come to the placement of villages over the past thousand-odd years.  You can lay out a map and note that in some wide valley....fourteen villages which all lay three to six kilometers apart, and any attempt to place a wind-generator 'farm' up.....puts the 'farm' within 1,500 to 3,000 meters of village 'A' or village 'B'.  In the minds of locals....that's just too close.

If I were a betting person, all of this lack of placement....will end up as a top ten political issue discussion in the 2021 general election, and lead to villages having their approval process taken away.