As windmills spread, some Germans balk at 'asparagus fields'

In Germany, which passed a 2002 law to phase out all nuclear production by 2020, officials are hoping that windmills generate 12.5 percent of the country's energy needs by 2010. According to recent surveys, close to 80 percent of Germans support the government's strategy of promoting renewable energy sources. Some 35,000 jobs have been created by the industry thus far, and the cost to the consumer is low: The average rise in electricity bill per household as a result of wind power is one euro.

Yet as wind power has grown in Germany, so too have questions surrounding its efficiency. A report recently released by the German Ministry of the Economy has proved damaging, questioning the energy source's effectiveness in reducing CO2 production worldwide. The report concludes that the trade in CO2 emission licenses - as called for by the Kyoto Protocol - will mean that German companies that use wind energy will be able to sell their CO2 emission permits, effectively exporting CO2 production out of Germany without contributing to an overall reduction.

Many experts have criticized the report, but it has given momentum to the anti-windmill movement. Additional studies pointing to the inconsistency of windy weather in Germany and a general reduction in windy days overall in recent years have also fueled resistance.

"The Renewable Energy Act is a very blunt instrument to promote wind energy," says Marcus Peek, a scientist at the University of Cologne Energy Institute. "It doesn't take into account where investors are building windmills and if they are building them in spots that make sense."

Many close to the industry admit that mistakes have been made - especially in terms of marketing. "Acceptance of windmills is still a point where more work needs to be done," says Peter Ahmels, president of the German Wind Energy Association. "We need to do more public relations work to increase tolerance."

Wind energy's antagonists, meanwhile, are hoping that through petitioning, legal challenges, and political influence their voices will be heard. It is the local issues - the hum of the turbines, the flashing red lights on blades that creates a "disco effect" - that have most activists riled.

"Imagine you live in an area that is completely changed into an industrial region - and in the end, wind farms are industrial installations," says Mengel. "People would accept that if they saw a benefit to it. A few people make money from it, but everybody else gets nothing. Why should I sacrifice my landscape so that Herr Müller down the road can make money by leasing out his land for a wind park?"

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