Although the opponents of renewable energies are strongly in the minority, the public debate is very much dominated by their arguments. Thus, 83% of German citizens support the further expansion of renewable energies. 51% of the respondents consider wind power “very good” or “rather good” even in the neighborhood. The public acceptance for renewable energies is thus significantly higher than the public image suggests: according to this, a large part of the population is against wind power in their own neighborhood. One of the main arguments of the opponents of wind power is the fear of the alleged disfigurement of the landscape, which will increase considerably with an expansion of wind power with very many new wind turbines. There is a widespread belief that a full supply of 100% renewable energy would result in a landscape filled with wind turbines.
To counter these diffuse fears, the Energy Watch Group has made a rough estimate of how many onshore wind turbines would be needed if Germany’s entire energy supply for electricity, heat, transport and industry were to be provided year-round at every hour of the year solely from renewables by 2030.
Read the full short analysis in German here.
