Energy: When the wind blows

• Ref:
• Location:
• Type:
• Salary:
• Start Date:

UK Only Article: 
standard article

Issue: 

A modern ark

Fly Title: 

Energy

Rubric: 

Renewable power is good. More renewable power is not always better

Main image: 

20151121_SRP002_4.jpg

ON A BREEZY, sunny day in north-east Germany it seems as though the world is running on renewable energy. Near Altentreptow 50-odd giant wind turbines, the tallest 200 metres high, spin above a potato field, making a gentle swishing sound. The hum from the base of each turbine is the sound of electricity being generated, much of it bound for Berlin. The view from the wind farm, across flat fields, is of another wind farm.
Sadly, this is not how the world’s power is generated. In truth, the view from Altentreptow does not even properly reflect how Germany’s power is generated. The battle to drive carbon dioxide out of the world energy system, which accounts for about two-thirds of human greenhouse-gas emissions, has seen some heartening and visible advances. But clean energy is still being soundly thrashed by the …
Source: Utilities
Energy: When the wind blows