Wind Energy

A Breath of wind power in the Swiss mountains

That’s what EWEA’s 17 year old Wiet van Hout from Belgium did last weekend when he collected his prize as one of the winners of the ‘Breath of Fresh Air – adopt a wind turbine’ competition: a trip to Switzerland including a wind farm visit on Mont Crosin. As EWEA’s Campaign Officer, I was lucky enough to go with him.

Sponsored by sol-E Suisse and accompanied by a competent guide, Wiet and his sister Bieke explored the visitors’ centre, the wind turbines from nearby and inside and used the opportunity to question the guide – and me! – about all aspects of wind energy.

After four hours walking, the prize-winners were tired, but happy. Wiet said: ‘As a pilot, I am used to seeing wind turbines from above when flying the glider plane. But it is a totally new experience to come this close and even see the wind turbines from inside.’

‘Wind energy for me is clearly the future’, said Bieke. ‘Everyone should understand that it is the best power source if you care about the environment.’ Click here to watch a video of the wind farm visit.

Over 10,000 people have participated in the Breath of Fresh Air campaign since its launch in April 2010, adopting turbines all over Europe or voting for those their friends adopted.

Although the contest is closed, you can still adopt wind turbines to show your support for wind energy.

www.youtube.com/watch

freshair.ewea.org/

By Elke Zander, blog.ewea.org