Wind turbines don’t weaken the forest, but drought and pest infestation do.

We answer questions here put to us by the broadcaster Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg but not published until now. This relates specifically to one of our planned wind farms in the Prignitz district, but also serves as an example for other projects.

According to Brandenburg’s energy strategy, the state is aiming for climate neutrality to 2045 and is focusing on the continuous expansion of renewable energies, developing a hydrogen economy, the integration of new storage technologies, increasing energy efficiency and systematically linking the electricity, industry, heating and mobility energy sectors. 2.2 % of the land area must be available for the utilisation of wind energy by 2030. The German Wind Energy Area Requirements Act (WindBG) specifies the targets for all federal states, and it is thus evaluated which areas are deemed actually suitable. Qualitative forest areas, protected biotopes, open space networks and nature conservation areas are not feasible for the construction and erection of wind turbines.

Erection only in managed forests

Question: You obviously assume that the already weakened ‘pole forest’ in the area in question will have to be replaced in the future, and then you, meaning your company, want to take care of the reforestation. Which tree species do you want to reforest with? Who will finance it? What time frame have you set for it, and which local foresters are you currently discussing this with?

greenwind: Wind turbines are only erected in managed forests, and these are usually pine monocultures with low ecological value. Existing access routes are used to minimise the impact on the existing forest structure, and wherever possible, storage areas are set up outside the forest. For setting up wind turbines, protected forests, areas in open space networks or in nature conservation areas are out of the question.

Afforestation or reforestation, as compensation for cleared areas, is carried out in consultation with the lower forestry authority and the lower nature conservation authority. Forestation is done with native trees appropriate to the location to develop a species-rich mixed deciduous forest with species such as hornbeam, sessile oak, littleleaf lime and European white elm, and with the creation of species-rich, stepped forest edges. Only native shrubs and trees are used, and fencing protects the planting from damage from game animals. The plant growth is cultivated until it is reliably established (in most cases this is five years).

Before planning, an expert survey and review is performed to assess the forest itself and the species living in it (including birds, bats and forest ants) in order to optimise the sites. The felling of trees is monitored by an ecological construction supervisor, all costs for planning, implementation and care are financed by the project sponsor, and planting takes place after the project has been approved.

One system saves 700 times as much CO₂

Question: Is it true that you’ll dispose of the systems, including the entire foundations, without leaving anything behind after they’ve been decommissioned?

greenwind: Following decommissioning the wind turbine is completely dismantled, including the foundations. This disassembly is already regulated in the authorisation in accordance with the German Immission Control Act (BImSchG). This also stipulates the deposit of a security deposit with the district prior to erecting the wind turbines (the ‘dismantling guarantee’) to financially secure the disassembly at the end of operation life. The entire dismantling is carried out at the expense and responsibility of the system operator and compliant to DIN SPEC 4866 from 2020. The components are utilised for energy recycling and/or material recycling, and the dumping of dismantled wind turbines is not permitted.

Question: Isn’t it a contradiction to want to build wind turbines in an already weakened forest?

greenwind: Wind turbines don’t weaken the forest, but drought and pest infestation do, and forests are strengthened by converting pine monocultures into species-rich mixed forests. These forest structures are also much less susceptible to forest fires. [Regarding fire protection: every wind park project has a fire protection concept coordinated with the local fire brigade and the fire protection authority. Wind turbines in the forest are equipped with an automatic fire detection and extinguishing system, and the system operator must establish sufficient extinguishing water extraction points before commissioning. The extinguishing water is permanently available for use by the fire brigades.] One wind turbine saves approx. 700 times as much CO₂ as one hectare of forest binds.

The energy transition: hardly possible without hydrogen

Question: The planned wind turbines will also be used for potential hydrogen production for example. On the other hand though, the infrastructure and final utilisation possibilities for using hydrogen haven’t yet been determined.

greenwind: An energy transition in Germany without hydrogen as an energy source is hardly possible. Applications in Prignitz for public transport and commercial vehicle fleets (for example for refuse collection vehicles in the districts of Ostprignitz-Ruppin and Prignitz) are being considered at district level. DESAG (a German railway service company) is also planning to supply the rail network between Kyritz and Meyenburg with hydrogen to enable emission-free transport, and local industry can utilise hydrogen for (intra-)logistics applications or within special processes. Electrolysis plants and hydrogen production have potential applications in the field of heat utilisation, and the gas transport company Ontras is also planning for one of the largest hydrogen pipelines in Germany to run through Prignitz, meaning that hydrogen infrastructure will come to Prignitz.

Question: What will happen to the wind energy produced up until then? And who knows whether hydrogen really could or should be used on a larger scale?

greenwind: Even without hydrogen, green energy offers a locational advantage for industry and the commercial sector because electricity from renewable energies is the cheapest form of generation. Unfortunately, the planning horizon for wind energy projects in Germany is lengthy, so that this problem should not occur if wind energy plants, electrolysis facilities and hydrogen applications are planned in a coordinated manner.

Question: Especially if the grid structure for the energy already produced doesn’t yet exist and the energy can’t be transported to areas where it’s needed or where it can be used cheaply by local people?

greenwind: It is precisely the problem of the lack of electricity grid capacity that can solved by flexible loads such as electrolysis plants in the region. At times when regionally generated green electricity can’t be used, hydrogen, despite that limiting factor, makes it possible to utilise the electricity. By converting the electricity into hydrogen, capacities of the gas grids or other gas storage technologies (e.g. trailers) can be used. Operating electrolysis plants generates waste heat which in the future can be used regionally in municipal heating structures as a partial solution to the heating transition.

Version May 2024