[pf] Fw: The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind

· I've just added this item to my environmental news compilation.  D.

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=11592&newsDate=16-Jul-2001
  is:
      FEATURE - German sea winds may be answer to energy woes
---------------------------------------------------------------
  
GERMANY: July 16, 2001

LUEBKE-KOOG, Germany - How do you meet the energy needs of Europe's largest
economy without exceeding pollution limits set out in the Kyoto treaty,
just months after you abandoned nuclear power?

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind, says German pig farmer
Hans-Detlef Feddersen.
Just off the North Sea coast of Germany in fact.

Feddersen and other farmers in his community have installed 32 wind
turbines behind the dikes on Germany's northern coast, producing a hefty 55
million kilowatt hours of electricity a year, enough to supply power for
around 16,000 households.

As the three blades of a turbine drone 60 metres (197 feet) overhead,
Feddersen points out to the grey waves near the popular German holiday
resort island of Sylt.

"That's where we want to go next. Offshore."

Germany leads the world in using clean or renewable energy. Half of all the
wind power in Europe is produced in Germany, which is around a third of the
world total.

Feddersen and those like him have transformed wind power from the crackpot
dreams of a few ex-hippies into a serious option for supplying a large
chunk of world energy needs.

Now the big power companies are starting to take notice and wind power will
be a major talking point at the Bonn climate conference which starts on
July 16, where countries will try to reach a deal on cutting greenhouse gas
emissions, many of which are produced in coal, gas or oil-burning power
stations.

About 2.5 percent of Germany's energy needs come from wind turbines but
that could increase dramatically once the latest stage of wind power
generation moves from drawing board to reality.

"We've got a lot of wind up here, but we never knew what to do with it. All
the cheap energy today is going to cause problems for the next generation.
But wind power doesn't leave a trace," says Feddersen.

OFFSHORE DREAMS

Environment Minister Juergen Trittin, a member of the Greens who was
largely responsible for coordinating Germany's decision to abandon nuclear
power over the coming years, shares Feddersen's vision of offshore wind farms.

"The boom in wind power is a sign that Germany is taking the issue of
renewable energy seriously, despite difficulties at an international
level," Trittin said as he launched a position paper setting out the
government's goals for wind energy.

Germany's roughly 9,400 existing land-based wind turbines produce around
6,100 megawatts of power a year.

"But we can only reach our goal of doubling the share of renewable energy
use in Germany by 2010 if we begin wind energy generation at sea," Trittin
said.
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sent on to PF by David.
David MacClement [davd @ ihug.co.nz] (remove spaces)
http://davd.tripod.com/GrRR-010713_titles.html#top
http://www.geocities.com/davd.geo/index.html#top
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