Posted on 08/29/2023 3:41:46 PM PDT by Olog-hai
German energy giant RWE has begun dismantling a wind farm to make way for a further expansion of an open-pit lignite coal mine in the western region of North Rhine Westphalia.
One wind turbine has already been dismantled, with a further seven scheduled for removal to excavate an additional 15m to 20m tonnes of so-called ‘brown’ coal, the most polluting energy source.
The demolitions are part of a deal brokered last year between Robert Habeck, the Green Party’s minister for economy and climate action and Mona Neubaur, who is the economy minister for North Rhine Westphalia, to allow the expansion of the mine.
In return, RWE had to agree to phase out coal in 2030, eight years before the previous deadline. “It’s a good day for climate protection,” Habeck said at the time.
But this week’s move has sparked sharp criticism from activists.
“The current climate emergency requires urgent and concerted efforts to accelerate the deployment of every single wind turbine, solar panel and heat pump that we can muster,” said Fabian Hübner, a senior campaigner at Beyond Fossil Fuels, a German-based coalition of climate activists.
“Anything that diverts from this critical endeavor, especially the dismantling of renewable energy sources to extract more fossil fuels, must be unequivocally prohibited,” he added. […]
According to RWE, the expansion is necessary “due to the energy crisis.” The government in Berlin follows this logic. Indeed, some of the leading advocates of RWE’s coal expansion plans come from the Green Party, one of three ruling parties in Germany’s current ‘traffic light’ coalition with center-left SPD and business-friendly FPD-party.
Habeck has defended the expansion as the “right decision.” Green party politician Oliver Krischer has described the expansion and earlier phase-out as “one of the greatest advances we’ve made in recent years.” …
(Excerpt) Read more at euobserver.com ...
No problem. The right people have been paid off.
Knock them down and start a fresh round of bribery and kickbacks.
Greta’s going into hyperspace over this.
The Green Party gets to pretend they’re winning “we’re phasing out coal sooner than expected: 2030”. But instead it’s a reversion back to reality: “green” power on the grid doesn’t cut the mustard. They need fossil fueled power.
I hope the Krauts are using solar-powered mining equipment.
File this under “News you’ll never see in the American media”.
What about the house size concrete and steel thing underground will they recycle it , oh wait all of Merkel’s work will be lost ,LOL
Get Neidermier on it STAT! I H8 those things blocking my “view shed”.
Send Joe Biden the bill. He blew up your natural gas pipelines for his own good.
They had a good deal with Russia...Fools...
They still do.
And Trump was not all for that deal. He insisted that they buy US gas and oil.
Greta can go bleep herself for all I care. I’ve had enough of that miscreant to last a lifetime.
Smart move by germany.
True...but in the end...it’s about the people...
I’ve also been there. That “brown coal” is LOADED with sulphur, which creates terrible acid rain along with everything else. I saw in one East German city how the acid had eaten all the carving detail off the cathedral there.
But the oh-so-smart Germans would rather shut down their far, far cleaner nuclear plants.
Crazy Greta will blow fire out of her unwanted female parts.
The future is nucular for applications in cities and structures.
Hydrogen capture will end up being the primary vehicle source.
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