Wind Power News: Netherlands
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Concerns over plans to build windmills around protected nature reserves
About 40 percent of permits issued for new wind turbines to be placed in the Netherlands are located in or around protected nature reserves, according to a study by Investico, Trouw, EenVandaag, and De Groene Amsterdammer. Nature organizations are concerned about the effect of these turbines on local bird and bat populations, Trouw reported. Over 600 windmills have already been built in protected nature areas. And energy companies have received permits to build another 175 windmills in Natura 2000 areas . . . Complete story »
Tracked sea eagle dies in fatal collision with wind turbine
A sea eagle that was tagged in De Biesbosch in Zuid-Holland did not survive a collision with the rotor of a wind turbine in Germany. In 2019, the bird, together with ten others, was given a tag to track their behavior and learn more about the areas where sea eagles go and how they survive. The dead sea eagle is the first death in this group, nature website Nature Today reports on Sunday. According to a report on sea eagles . . . Complete story »
Kann das wirklich sein: Windräder als Klimakiller?
Vogel-, Fledermaus -und Insektenschlag, Schattenwurf und Infraschall sind bislang die bekanntesten Argumente gegen Windkraftanlagen. Und jetzt auch das noch: Forscher in den Niederlanden, den USA, in Kanada und China haben, war in einer überregionalen Zeitung zu lesen, ermittelt: Große Windturbinen sind mitverantwortlich für Dürre und Erderwärmung… Unter ihnen die profilierte US-amerikanische Geo-Ingenieurin Christine L. Archer und der kanadische Wissenschaftler David W. Keith. Sie und andere Wissenschaftler hätten den Dürre-Effekt durch Verwirbelung hinter den Windrädern nachgewiesen, was als Nachlauf oder wie . . . Complete story »
Wind farm shuts down turbines to protect birds and bats
A wind farm in the province of Zeeland is the first to fit a system to switch off turbines automatically to guarantee the safety of nearby birds and bats, Omroep Zeeland reports. Wind farm Krammer is situated near the Krammersluizen in the middle of three Natura 2000 protected nature reserves. A number of the park’s 34 turbines have been fitted with cameras, microphones and loudspeakers, and mainly cover the area where the rare sea eagle hunts and breeds. If the . . . Complete story »
Windmill topples over in Friesland during severe wind warning
A 32-meter high toppled over Sunday night in Jorwert, Friesland, while a weather warning for strong winds was in effect. Though it was initially reported to the fire department as a possible case of storm damage, authorities told broadcaster NOS the cause is still under investigation. It happened at about 6:45 p.m. on Hessensereed, a quiet road in the quiet Frisian town. The windmill fell across the street, blocking traffic in both directions. Eventually, a crane was used to move . . . Complete story »
A new problem for clean energy: Dealing with old windmill blades
If you live in a state where wind power is generating an increasing share of electricity, you’ve probably passed a windmill blade being towed down the highway and assumed that another new wind turbine is being installed somewhere. You might be wrong. Wind turbines put into service in the 1990s and the 2000s are reaching the end of their useful lives of 20 to 30 years and are being replaced. That’s creating a massive amount of junk that needs to . . . Complete story »
Waarom vaker dode bruinvissen rondom offshore windparken?
[Why are dead porpoises found more often around offshore wind farms? (translate article to English)] “Hoe kan het dat we vaker dode bruinvissen vangen rondom offshore windparken?”, vraagt Art-Jan van der Plas (WR 244 en KW 5). Tim Haasnoot van Vistikhetmaar zoekt het uit. Vissers melden steeds vaker dat ze rondom offshore windmolenparken dode bruinvissen vangen. Om op zoek te gaan naar een antwoord zijn zeezoogdierexperts Mardik Leopold van Wageningen Marine Research en Lonneke IJsseldijk van Universiteit Utrecht ingeschakeld. Bij het . . . Complete story »
Windmolen lekt extreem schadelijk gas [Windmills leak very dangerous gas]
[Windmills and switching stations contain an extremely heavy and harmful greenhouse gas as insulation material. Every year in The Netherlands alone hundreds of kilos of this sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) leak into the atmosphere. (translate article to English)] Windmolens en schakelstations bevatten een extreem zwaar en schadelijk broeikasgas als isolatiemateriaal. Jaarlijks lekken alleen al in ons land honderden kilo’s van dit zwavelhexafluoride de atmosfeer in. De Nederlandse netwerkbedrijven en drie van de grootste internationale bouwers van transmissie-apparatuur, ABB, Siemens en General Electric, . . . Complete story »
Attempt to improve sea life diversity at wind farms fails
An attempt to improve wildlife diversity at a wind farm in the North Sea has failed as 85% of oysters introduced there have died, reports the Volkskrant. Eight months after two environmental groups introduced the creatures to try to improve the quality of underwater life at the Luchterduinen wind farm, most of the 600 oysters have perished. The animals are thought to improve water quality and attract other wildlife, and the pilot study did however find that the 15% of . . . Complete story »
Windmill protesters placed on Dutch terror list
Dutch counter-terror officials on Monday highlighted “extremist” wind turbine protesters alongside Islamists and the far right in the country’s latest terrorism threat report. At least two companies building new wind turbines in the Netherlands have cancelled construction projects “out of fear of attacks and have lost millions” of euros in damage, the NCTV counter-terrorism agency said. “Extremist protest actions by a small group of anonymous activists against the erection of wind turbines in the Drenthe and Groningen provinces have continued . . . Complete story »
