SHIPPING giant windmills parts hither and yon faces prospects of decline as the technology has grown so unpopular that their construction in Germany has all but ground to a halt, reports Bloomberg.
There are nearly 30,000 wind turbines in Germany, more than anywhere else in Europe. Only China and the US are there more. Germany gets 23.5 per cent of its energy from wind this year, its biggest source of renewable energy. But in the first half of 2019, only 35 wind turbines were added - an 82 per cent drop compared with the first six months of 2018. Last year was bad, too: Just 743 turbines were added, compared with 1,792 in 2017.
This is happening because it's getting harder to get permission to erect the turbine towers. Local regulations are getting stricter. Bavaria decided back in 2014 that the distance between a wind turbine and the nearest housing must be 10 times the height of the mast, which, given the density of dwellings, makes it hard to find a spot anywhere.
Wind energy development is practically stalled in the state now. Brandenburg, the state surrounding Berlin, passed a law this year demanding that wind-farm operators pay EUR10,000 (US$11,100) per turbine each year to communities within three kilometres of the windmills.
Wind projects are also often rejected or stalled because they're deemed to interfere with military communications, air traffic control or broadcast radio stations. Besides, local opponents of the wind farms often go to court to stall new developments or even have existing towers dismantled.
WORLD SHIPPING
There are nearly 30,000 wind turbines in Germany, more than anywhere else in Europe. Only China and the US are there more. Germany gets 23.5 per cent of its energy from wind this year, its biggest source of renewable energy. But in the first half of 2019, only 35 wind turbines were added - an 82 per cent drop compared with the first six months of 2018. Last year was bad, too: Just 743 turbines were added, compared with 1,792 in 2017.
This is happening because it's getting harder to get permission to erect the turbine towers. Local regulations are getting stricter. Bavaria decided back in 2014 that the distance between a wind turbine and the nearest housing must be 10 times the height of the mast, which, given the density of dwellings, makes it hard to find a spot anywhere.
Wind energy development is practically stalled in the state now. Brandenburg, the state surrounding Berlin, passed a law this year demanding that wind-farm operators pay EUR10,000 (US$11,100) per turbine each year to communities within three kilometres of the windmills.
Wind projects are also often rejected or stalled because they're deemed to interfere with military communications, air traffic control or broadcast radio stations. Besides, local opponents of the wind farms often go to court to stall new developments or even have existing towers dismantled.
WORLD SHIPPING