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Once a world ‘leader’, Germany’s wind industry is on the brink of total collapse; new construction has ceased, and bankrupt turbine makers are sacking thousands of workers.

Limit your worldview to the mainstream press and you’d be forgiven for thinking Germany is well on its way to an all wind and sun powered future, and that its renewable energy sector is a picture of health.

It’s only on sites like this one and NoTricksZone that you’ll see reports about just how dire the situation is for renewable energy rent seekers across Europe and in Germany, in particular.

Over the last month or so, the holier than thou windbags that occupy Australia’s mainstream broadcast and print media have been carrying on about Australian’s “right to know”, in a sanctimonious campaign railing against government and bureaucratic secrecy.

Over the span of 2019 STT has carried dozens of posts about the collapse of the renewables industry across Europe.

But, for some strange reason, you won’t have read anything about it in Murdoch dailies, including The Australian or in any of the Channel Nine owned (former Fairfax mastheads) The Age, Sydney Morning Herald or Australian Financial Review. The sudden (and wholly predictable) collapse of the wind and solar ‘industries’ in Europe apparently doesn’t fit within their sanctimonious “right to know” model.

Because they’ve been systematically kept in the dark, chat to an Australian about the prospects for wind and solar, and they’ll soon start talking about Germany.

Next time they do, you might like to direct their attention to a few STT posts, just like this one.

Increasingly Powerful Headwinds Ahead: Germany’s Wind Industry Faces Extinction …”10,000 Jobs Lost”

No Tricks Zone

Pierre Gosselin

24 November 2019

Online site wind energy proponent site, Energiezukunft.eu here presents a commentary telling why Germany is seeing ever-increasing resistance to wind energy projects and how the wind industry could be seeing the final nail in its coffin.

Behind the mounting resistance are hundreds of anti-wind farm citizens’ initiatives across the country, stricter rules for wind projects and powerful anti-wind bureaucrats now heading key government positions.

According to Energiezukunft.eu (Energy Future.eu) the new German draft laws are also calling on wind farm operators “to participate in the costs of grid expansion”, a costly requirement that wind energy proponents say “could ruin the wind energy industry”.

“Actions in the Ministry of Economics show: This is being done deliberately.”

Wind running up against fierce citizens’ opposition

Once welcome with open arms by citizens in Europe, wind projects today are being met with fierce opposition as citizens have come to realize how wind parks horrendously blight the landscape, threaten endangered species, produce unhealthy infrasound and generate electricity only sporadically.

Actions speaking louder than words

While the German CDU/CSU/SPD grand coalition government openly preaches the virtues of changing over to green energies like wind and sun and that they are the future, their actions and proposals in reality speak tell us the opposite. The German government indeed seems to be ending the free ride that wind energy has enjoyed for more than 2 decades.

Energiezukunft.eu reports that the planned grid expansion participation regulation “could stifle the construction of new wind turbines in overloaded power grids such as those in northern Germany” and “would lead to incalculable costs for wind farm operators.”

Onshore wind parks are looking less attractive than ever.

Anti-wind citizens groups now a formidable force

Once ridiculed and often ignored, citizens’ initiatives against wind projects now “have great influence up to the highest circles” of federal ministries, Energiezukunft.eu acknowledges.

Wind energy proponent Energiezukunft.eu attacks the citizen initiatives, claiming their arguments “are often put forward under the guise of environmental protection.” Energiezukunft.eu then even claims wind turbines in fact protect species and the environment: “In addition, there is climate change, which severely disrupts and destroys the environment of the animals. The expansion of wind power would bring positive benefits here.”

Anti-wind officials in key positions

Energiezukunft.eu points out there is another major obstacle that the wind industry is facing in the future: high-level, anti-wind energy officials appointed to key positions, such as Stephanie von Ahlefeldt, head of the “Energy Policy – Electricity and Networks” department.

Because Ahlefeldt is now sitting at the levers of control, “She knows exactly which levers to pull in order to make a difference, and she is pulling all the levers at the same time,” Energiezukunft.eu warns.

Bleak future for German wind energy – Bright future for conservationists

The mounting obstacles against wind energy from citizens initiatives, stricter regulations and powerful anti-wind officials in key positions mean the future for wind energy development across Germany’s landscape looks bleaker than ever. This has real environmentalists celebrating.

Tens of thousands of wind jobs lost

The situation for the wind industry in Germany has been dismal for some two years. Energiezukunft.eu writes: “10,000 jobs have already been lost in the wind energy sector” and “many thousands more jobs are at risk as a result of the planned regulations.”

No Tricks Zone