CITIZENS NEWS

Renewable rhymes with unreliable: Germany's first offshore wind farm to be DECOMMISSIONED

By ramontomeydw // 2025-03-19

• Germany's Alpha Ventus offshore wind farm, a pioneering project commissioned in 2010, is set to be decommissioned after 15 years due to the expiration of government subsidies, highlighting the economic challenges of offshore wind energy.
• The wind farm relied on a subsidy under the country's Renewable Energy Sources Act. The facility is unprofitable without it, revealing the financial unsustainability of offshore wind without government support.
• Offshore wind farms face harsh marine conditions – including saltwater corrosion, powerful waves and extreme weather – leading to frequent breakdowns, costly repairs and significant logistical difficulties in maintenance.
• Upgrading Alpha Ventus with modern turbines is complicated by the limited reuse of existing infrastructure. The cycle of dismantling and replacing aging wind farms raises environmental and financial concerns, contradicting the sustainability narrative of renewable energy.
• The decommissioning of Alpha Ventus underscores the broader issues of high maintenance costs, logistical inefficiencies and environmental vulnerabilities, challenging the viability of offshore wind as a sustainable energy solution.

Germany's Alpha Ventus offshore wind farm, once hailed as a pioneering achievement in the green energy revolution, is set to be decommissioned after 15 years of operation – a stark reminder of the unsustainable realities of renewable energy. The facility located 40 kilometers (24.85 miles) northwest of the German island of Borkum in the North Sea served as a symbol of progress when it was commissioned in 2010. News of its shutdown came after its generous subsidies from the German government expires. Under Germany's Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), the wind farm received $0.154 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) – a rate that made its operation feasible. But with the subsidy gone, the operators receive a mere $0.039 cents per kWh, rendering the project unprofitable. The end of government subsidies reveals the harsh truth: Without massive government subsidies, offshore wind energy is neither economically viable nor environmentally sustainable. (Related: Green energy failure: UK spends over £1 billion this year to turn off wind farms and start up gas plants.) "Economic operation is not possible with this level of support," said a spokesperson for the German Offshore Test Field and Infrastructure (DOTI), the wind farm's operator. DOTI is a consortium made up of the German energy firms EWE and RWE, alongside the Swedish state-owned power company Vattenfall.

Clean energy built on shaky foundations

The challenges of offshore wind energy extend far beyond financial dependency. Offshore wind farms like Alpha Ventus face relentless wear and tear due to the harsh marine environment. Saltwater corrosion, powerful waves and extreme weather conditions accelerate the degradation of turbine components – leading to frequent breakdowns and costly repairs. Unlike onshore wind farms, accessing and repairing offshore turbines is a logistical nightmare. Weather constraints and the need for specialized equipment and personnel make maintenance both time-consuming and prohibitively expensive. As Blackout News reported, these factors result in "more significant losses in electricity generation and revenue," further undermining the economic viability of offshore wind projects. Even the operators of Alpha Ventus acknowledge the limitations of their aging infrastructure. While upgrading the wind farm with modern turbines is theoretically an option, the spokesperson admitted that "the question arises as to which parts of the facility from the first phase of offshore technology could be meaningfully reused." This raises another critical issue: the environmental and financial costs of dismantling and replacing outdated wind farms. DOTI head Eric Richter noted that Alpha Ventus marks "the beginning of a new phase in offshore wind energy in Germany, in which many large wind farms will need to be dismantled and replaced with new ones." This cycle of construction, decommissioning and reconstruction is not only wasteful, but also contradicts the narrative of renewable energy as a sustainable solution. The story of Alpha Ventus exposes the green energy revolution as a scam built on shaky foundations. Offshore wind farms, touted as the future of clean energy, are unsustainable without perpetual government subsidies. Their high maintenance costs, logistical challenges, and environmental vulnerabilities make them a poor investment compared to more reliable energy sources. As Germany prepares to dismantle its first offshore wind farm, it is time to confront the uncomfortable truth: The so-called green energy revolution is a costly illusion, propped up by taxpayer money and false promises. Watch this clip about offshore wind turbines torturing whales. This video is from the Exposing The Agenda channel on Brighteon.com.

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