Wind farm in Germany is being dismantled to expand coal mine
Source: (
https://bit.ly/3sD3rAA)
A wind farm in Germany is being dismantled to expand the
Garzweiler lignite mine. One of eight turbines installed at the
location in 2001 has already been removed. Nevertheless, the
German state of North Rhine-Westphalia said it would phase
out coal by 2030, as did RWE, the company that owns the mine.
Wind turbines near the Garzweiler open pit mine in the state
of North Rhine-Westphalia, run by German energy giant RWE,
is being removed to make way for more lignite exploitation.
The turbines were in operation since 2001, and government
subsidies have expired. Energiekontor and wpd, which is also
active in the Balkans, operate the wind farm.
It is unknown how long the deconstruction would take. So far,
one wind turbine has been removed.
Lignite for electricity production will be extracted where the wind
turbines are now located
Garzweiler's annual production is 25 million tonnes, according to
RWE. It estimated that lignite reserves in the area could last until
2045. The fuel is mostly supplied to the nearby Neurat thermal
power plant.
The excavation was initially limited to an area of 66 square
kilometers in the Garzweiler 1 area. The complex was extended
in 2006 to the Garzweiler 2 sector over an area of 48 square
kilometers.
The population from several municipalities in the area west
of Cologne had to be relocated due to the Grazweiler mine
expansion. In addition to the location of the wind farm, RWE
is taking an area in and around the small town of Lutzerath. It will
be completely evicted and demolished.
The town has become a symbolic battlefield for climate activists
in Germany.
The decision to demolish Lutzerath was made in accordance with
the country's new coal policy to temporarily increase the use of
lignitefor electricity production during the energy crisis, Clean
Energy Wire reported.
Nevertheless, North Rhine-Westphalia has announced it would stop
using fossil fuels by 2030, as did RWE.
The court in the German town of Munster ruled this year in favor
of expanding the mine. Climate activists opposed to the plans called
the decision cynical and hypocritical.
The court found that no alternative surface mines would meet the
necessary demand for lignite. Security of supply is currently the
priority while "climate protection remains one of the key challenges
of our time," RWE pointed out and declared it seeks to support both,
the article adds.
The Ministry of Economy of North Rhine-Westphalia elaborated on
the paradoxical situation, saying the move would enable the
recultivation of former coal pits, the shutdown of Garzweiler and
a coal phaseout.
"If Lutzerath were to be preserved, the production volume required
to maintain the security of supply over the next eight years could
not be achieved, the stability of the opencast mine could not be
guaranteed and the necessary recultivation could not be carried
out," it said.
Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and
Climate Action Robert Habeck has said negotiations on the country's
coal phaseout were underway with operators of other mines and eight
thermal power plants.
