World outlook orld outlook
The Energiewende storms ahead
For over a decade, Germany’s leaders have talked enthusiastically about boosting the country’s wind sector – but between local opposition and the lure of ambitious gas schemes, German turbines have traditionally struggled to get noticed. However, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine forcing a rethink on how the country secures its electricity – and a new green-friendly government ensconced in Berlin – could Germany finally fulfil its wind potential? Andrea Valentino talks to Christoph Podewils at Global Solutions Initiative and Heike Winkler at WAB, to learn more.
I 10
n the summer of 2021, Angela Merkel made a momentous decision. Ignoring Eastern European pleas to find alternative sources of power,
Germany’s outgoing chancellor pushed ahead with Nord Stream 2. A 1,200km-long gas pipeline, reaching from St Petersburg to the Baltic shore of Pomerania, the scheme would have provided German consumers with 110 billion cubic metres of gas each year – and made Vladimir Putin very rich indeed. During those long-lost July days, in fact, Berlin seemed remarkably relaxed about just this prospect. After a call between Putin and his German counterpart, the Kremlin released a statement praising Merkel’s “steadfast loyalty” on this “purely commercial” project.
Now, of course, everything is different. Germany’s president recently admitted that ignoring worries about Nord Stream 2, effectively placing Europe’s energy needs in a Russian vice, had been a mistake. Nord Stream 2 AG, the Swiss company behind the project, is rumoured to have gone bust. Angela Merkel, now safely retired, released a terse statement noting that recent events represented a “deep rupture” in European history. But if the war in Ukraine has shoved German politicians towards a world without cheap Russian gas, what that means for the future is unclear. This is not an idle question. As the continent’s economic titan, with the world’s fourth biggest manufacturing base, Germans on average use the equivalent of over 1,000 more kilos of oil than their
World Wind Technology /
www.worldwind-technology.com
TATYANA Yamshanova; Emir Simsek/
Shutterstock.com
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