Giant wind turbine rises in Brandenburg, taking on far-right headwinds

A 365-metre wind turbine is being built in Lusatia in Brandenburg, rising in a former coal-mining region. The turbine is expected to produce electricity from steady high-altitude winds before the end of the year, with projected output sufficient for about 7,500 households. The project uses rotor blades designed to achieve performance comparable to offshore wind farms, delivering double the output of standard wind turbines. Construction involves lifting 350 tonnes of steel as the structure rapidly increases in height. Funding of 20–30 million euros comes through a government agency supporting advanced technology. Germany’s energy transition relies on renewables as nuclear plants close and coal is phased out, with wind contributing nearly half of electricity generation.

"The giant structure -- set to dwarf the Eiffel Tower at 365 metres once completed -- is going up in the former coal-mining region of Lusatia in Brandenburg state. Once its huge rotor blades start spinning in the steady high-altitude winds before the end of the year, it is expected to generate enough electricity to power 7,500 households."

""We're achieving the same performance levels as an offshore wind farm, which means double the output compared to standard wind turbines," Jochen Grossmann, founder of the Dresden-based developer Gicon, told AFP during a visit to the site in a forest near the town of Schipkau. As workers braved a cold rain, the structure doubled in height within a matter of hours, as 350 tonnes of steel were hoisted into place by huge yellow construction cranes."

"The project is financed to the tune of 20-30 million euros through a government agency that sponsors cutting-edge tech, and seen by promoters as a new milestone in Germany's decades-old energy transition. Europe's top economy has shuttered its nuclear plants and is phasing out coal while subsidising renewables, which last year generated almost 59 percent of electricity, about half of it through wind."

"Grossmann sees such projects as the way forward if resource-poor Germany wants to meet its emissions targets and wean itself off fossil fuels from conflict-torn regions. "For the time being, our only options are solar and wind power," he argued. "Coal reserves are running out, and nuclear power has been phased out. We have only limited supplies of natural gas and oil.""

Read at The Local Germany