Pioneer spirit, courage and responsibility characterise the wind power business

The German Wind Energy Association (Bundesverband WindEnergie; BWE) invited German wind energy companies to a panel discussion at the German Museum of Technology to discuss the recent political trends. BWE-President Hermann Albers welcomed around 400 guests from politics, science and the wind turbines industry.

“Today we are able to contribute to the discussion of conditions, opportunities and potential of wind energy in Germany”, Albers said. “Looking at the current state of the political processes a lot of things are going the wrong way. Especially due the tremendous pace of the legislative process, mistakes are inevitable. That is why we will soon see the need for an extra troubleshooting law”, Albers feared.

Dr. Günther Bachmann, member of the governments “Ethics Commission for Secure Energy Supplies”, said the wind energy will be a cornerstone of future energy policy. “Pioneer spirit, courage and responsibility have always been the nature of the wind energy industry. This has been demonstrated in the past repeatedly, and that’s what we need for a sustainable energy future”, Bachmann emphasized in his presentation.

In the ensuing panel discussion there soon was consensus on the critical importance of wind energy for Germany’s future energy mix. BDEW-Chief Executive Hildegard Mueller called for “overcoming obstacles of the past and use the great opportunities that currently show up.”

Udo Paschedag, State Secretary of the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Agriculture, Conservation and Consumer Affairs wanted to know: “Who actually wrote the bill for environmental damage from nuclear and coal power plants?”

By Alexander Zirkel, BWE, blog.ewea.org/