Germany plans to build 60,000 new wind turbines
— in forests, in the foothills of the Alps and even in protected environmental areas. But local residents are up in arms, costs are skyrocketing and Germany’s determination to phase out nuclear power is in danger. The question is: How many forests must be sacrificed, how many horizons dotted with wind turbines, to meet Germany’s new energy targets?
Matthias Schulz,Spiegel Online, 12 July 2013
Merkel says will fight EU over Germany’s renewable energy law
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/16/germany-merkel-renewables-idUSB4N0EP00I20130716
Berlin facing EC bias claim over energy subsidies
Germany is facing legal action by the European Commission for discriminating in favour of its own energy companies in breach of competition law.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/10178866/Berlin-facing-EC-bias-claim-over-energy-subsidies.html
German operators of coal and gas power plants are sounding the alarm: the operation of many power plants is no longer profitable as a result of the green energy transition. Dozens of plants could be closed down, the industry warns.
http://www.thegwpf.org/german-energy-companies-threaten-shutdown-power-plants/
http://www.dw.de/storm-brewing-for-wind-industry/a-16562780
“But despite the increase in the number of units, the amount of electricity they contributed to the grid merely remained stable. According to Sylvia Pilarsky-Grosch, vice president of the German Wind Energy Association, “We didn’t produce more electricity in 2012 with wind energy than we did in 2011.” And one of the reasons for that was that there simply wasn’t enough wind.”
http://www.businessinsider.com/germanys-wind-power-chaos-2012-9#ixzz27URV5Zvx
“Now the problem for the German grid has become even worse. Thanks to a flood of subsidies unleashed by Angela Merkel’s government, renewable capacity has risen still further (solar, for instance, by 43 per cent). This makes it so difficult to keep the grid balanced that it is permanently at risk of power failures. (When the power to one Hamburg aluminium factory failed recently, for only a fraction of a second, it shut down the plant, causing serious damage.) Energy-intensive industries are having to install their own generators, or are looking to leave Germany altogether.”
Wind turbines as yet unsuitable as electricity providers
http://www.europhysicsnews.org/articles/epn/pdf/2012/02/epn2012432p22.pdf
Green Energy: Don’t Envy Germany
http://www.american.com/archive/2011/april/green-energy-dont-envy-germany
“Germany’s promotion of renewable energies is commonly portrayed as setting a standard for the rest of the world. It is instead a cautionary tale.”
Wind farm ordered dismantled
“A judge ordered the removal of 45 wind turbines on the grounds that planning laws were violated. There was no “general municipal plan” establishing a “reserva del suelo” – i.e. the land was not legally declared appropriate for the erection of wind turbines.”
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/05/18/wind-farm-ordered-dismantled/#more-40171
A Dying Breeze
http://theresilientearth.com/?q=content/dying-breeze
“Even when located in the windy North Sea, wind turbines simply do not produce at anywhere near their rated output. Alpha Ventus generates only 1/20th its rated capacity—enough energy for 2,500 homes, not 50,000.”
A new dark age for Germany?
http://cfact.eu/2010/12/01/a-new-dark-age-for-germany/
Spanish wind sector feels the pinch
http://social.windenergyupdate.com/industry-insight/spanish-wind-sector-feels-pinch?utm_source=WEU%2BNewsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Email
Where Wind Power Is Blowing Away Profits
A surplus in Germany forces utilities to pay customers to use it
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_19/b4177022147138.htm
Germany’s renewable myth
Germany is seen as a leader in renewable energy, but its experience has been a costly waste
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpcomment/archive/2009/10/21/germany-s-renewable-myth.aspx#ixzz0zWaHIaTa
Job Losses From Obama Green Stimulus Foreseen in Spanish Study
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a2PHwqAs7BS0
Study of the effects on employment of public aid to renewable energy sources
http://www.juandemariana.org/pdf/090327-employment-public-aid-renewable.pdf
Ontario's Wind Performance 