Should wind turbines really turn over the tops of the Ebersberg Forest at some point, and a name was sought for the project, it should be called the Wile E. Coyote Wind Park. Older TV viewers will remember, this is Roadrunner’s perpetually hapless antagonist. These cartoon candies who collide with any calamity are a reminder of the many difficulties the venture has faced since its inception more than a decade ago. So far – to stay with the picture – Wile E. has climbed the cliff again and again, whether it will be successful this time remains to be seen. In the meantime, you can devote yourself to the energy transition in the district.
Of course, the five wind turbines would be an important contribution – but by no means the decisive one. Especially considering the long lead time. Even without the insolvency of the investor, the first wind power from the forest would probably not have flowed into the grid until towards the end of the decade – at the earliest. If you remember the goal formulated by the district council in 2006 to make the district independent of fossil fuels by 2030, the five wind turbines in the forest would probably have come too late. That doesn’t mean the project is useless, just other things are more important for years to come.
For example, the many decentralized projects that are necessary to create the energy transition. It starts with energy-saving construction, includes photovoltaics and geothermal energy in your own home and doesn’t end with electricity storage devices of all sizes and for all kinds of needs. This is necessary because the architecture of the power grid must be different if, instead of a few large and central power plants, numerous smaller plants produce the electricity, which – as with wind and sun – are also subject to fluctuations. Every watt that just has to go from the solar system on the roof of the house to the storage tank in the basement is an advantage.
Of course, that won’t be enough to meet electricity needs, of course, it will still need large generators, and of course – coupled with viable storage solutions – wind power is one of them. Five wind turbines in the forest could contribute to this, but the question of how things will continue with 10H is much more interesting in this context – and above all whether.