Wind Energy

James Lovelock, once a pioneering force of the green movement, is calling for an end to "green romanticism" and is convinced that nuclear energy is the only way to delay climate change. What form of energy do you believe is our way out of the climate disaster?

The best way to produce energy is to use less of it and produce it more efficiently. The worldwide efficiency potential is considerable and in some cases amounts to up to 50 percent of what we consume today. But we will not be able to live entirely without electricity, so we need to replace CO2-intensive electricity production by no-risk, sustainable alternatives. Aside from energy efficiency, I believe that renewable energy sources will play a major role on the way to a sustainable energy supply. Not only do they reduce CO2 emissions, they also reduce our dependency on energy imports and therefore enhance supply stability.

How reliably can wind turbines produce energy? What happens when there are turbulences and storms, or even no wind at all?

Wind is not a constant source of energy, so the turbines' output has to be efficiently integrated into the supply grid. Today we have a European grid with a broad mix of power plants that can regulate and back up the supply system on the turbines' behalf. Of course the grid needs to be adapted to the feed-in of wind energy - for instance, by setting up new overhead power lines and integrating new energy storage technologies. Modern wind farms have an availability rate of around 98 per cent. Faulty turbines are quickly repaired by specially trained maintenance teams. The turbines are built to resist air turbulence and are not harmed by storms.

Is wind energy subsidised? What is the cost to the taxpayer?

Renewable energy does not consume taxpayers' money. The so-called feed-in compensation enshrined in the Renewable Energies Act is not a subsidy, as confirmed even by the European Court of Justice. It is true that wind farm operators that feed in electricity from renewable sources into the grid receive statutory feed-in compensation that is spread equally across all electricity users. To lower the cost of wind energy, the Act stipulates that the compensation paid for new wind farms be reduced gradually year by year. Care must be taken to ensure that the statutory compensation is not abused and does not lead to mismanagement. Moreover, wind energy also reduces environmental damage that, under the bottom line, far more than offsets the direct cost of wind energy.

How many wind farms can be installed in Germany? Have all available sites really already been taken up?

As published in dena's Netzstudie (Grid study) I, the German Wind Energy Institute (DEWI) estimates that by 2010 Germany's wind farms will have reached a combined output of 48,000 MW, including as much as 10,000 MW from offshore farms. The number of new onshore sites is decreasing, and we believe there is a kind of saturation in terms of the number of wind farms. The number of farms could even decrease in future as many smaller farms are replaced by more powerful, modern turbines, a process referred to as repowering.

What is your take on offshore wind farms?

On offshore sites there is far more wind and much more available space. Extremely powerful wind turbines are now being built as high as Cologne Cathedral, and very few onshore sites are suitable for these heights. Offshore wind energy is a viable new industry that will play a considerable role in terms of our future energy supply. Offshore wind technology is already a major economic factor for the coastal zone. In recent years several offshore wind farms have scaled the initial hurdle - around 1,400 sites 30 to 80 km off the North Sea and Baltic coasts have even already been approved. Some farms are already approved for connection to the grid. Only four small wind farms are relatively close to the coast, within 10 to 15 km. The others are far away in Germany's Exclusive Economic Zone in the North and Baltic seas.

In France and the UK, offshore operators receive 13 cents per kilowatt-hour. In the Netherlands, they even get 14 to 16 cents, whereas German operators receive a mere nine cents. Contrary to our European neighbours, German operators do not receive any direct subsidies or investment grants. At the same time they have to meet the most stringent environmental requirements, which doubles the cost of construction and maintenance compared to onshore sites. What would you like to see the government do to improve the framework for offshore technologies?

Conditions in Germany are better than would appear at first glance. The Federal Government has done a lot to improve matters. The Renewable Energies Act provides a stable financial framework for the next two decades and offers incentives especially for wind farms that are relatively far away from the coast and built in deep waters - no other country offers that. The new Infrastructure Planning Acceleration Act has exempted the first wind farms from the cost of connecting to the grid and shifted that responsibility to the grid operators. The operators are extending their grids into the sea. What the government should change is the 2010 deadline for lowering offshore energy compensation by 30 per cent, as well as the deadline for the beginning of the gradual decrease. These provisions are meant as an incentive for new wind farms to improve the cost efficiency of their technology. Pushing the deadlines back by three to five years would be justified as Germany's offshore wind industry is somewhat lagging behind.

"Green industry buries hope of offshore wind farms," wrote German weekly Der Spiegel in May 2007, quoting Matthias Hochstätter from the German Wind Energy Association (BWE). "The ambitions were just too high," he said. Only half of all offshore turbines with a total installed capacity of 20,000 MW were actually realisable, he continued. Why did he say that, and do you think he was right?

Europe currently has some 20 offshore wind farms with a total installed capacity of around 900 MW. By contrast, that is the capacity of all onshore sites in Germany in 1991. In other words, offshore wind energy is a young industry that is approaching these major projects at a cost of several hundred million euros with due care and respect. It has to gather experience and learn from it. That will take time. It is therefore difficult to say how fast this young offshore industry will develop. Time will tell. While we are already registering a surprising amount of interest from international investors, the infrastructural challenges are considerable. For instance, the turbine components are so big that new plants will have to be built close to the ports and new shipping bays at the ports added. Of course that places an extra burden on the industry, but they are accepting the challenges. Well-known wind turbine manufacturers are already planning and building new plants close to our seaports just to serve the offshore market. I am therefore not quite as pessimistic as some industry observers and still think the objectives can be reached. These facts, plus the favourable framework conditions in Germany, mean that offshore wind energy has a future.

Although two thirds of all Germans are in favour of developing wind energy, citizens are quick to form associations to counteract plans to build wind farms close to where they live. Jörg Feddern, energy expert at Greenpeace, believes it is the population's resistance against offshore parks that has prevented even one German offshore site from being built so far. What would you say to people who fight against wind turbines in their back gardens or wind farms that spoil the view from their beach houses?

The reason why no offshore wind farms have been built in Germany so far is that the technology you need to build turbines in deep water way off the coast is not available off the shelf. These developments need time, as I said. Regarding turbines in people's back gardens, I believe that the large, powerful turbines should be set up in areas that are suitable and that have been specially approved for that purpose. The selection of such sites takes into account many criteria and users' conflicting interests. Where the obstruction of sea views is concerned, all but four of the approved offshore wind farms in Germany are relatively far away from the coast. They will be visible just above the horizon only on days with good visibility. Then, they will be an example of clean electricity and of the pioneering role Germany and Europe play in terms of protecting the global climate. Why not ask the local tourist offices whether they plan to offer guided tours of offshore wind farms? That would certainly be an experience.