Bird population threatens Germany's largest pumped storage power station

The construction of Germany’s largest pumped storage power station at the Schluchsee lake could be thwarted by a population of Whinchat birds, Eberhard Wein writes in the Stuttgarter Zeitung. Conservationists from Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) are convinced that the region around the lake in the Black Forest needs to be transformed into a nature preserve for the endangered birds, which would render an implementation of the 1.6 billion-euro project impossible, Wein writes. The Schluchseewerk-operators, however, are confident that the project eventually will be licensed, as it was “necessary for the sake of the Energiewende,” Wein explains.

For more information, see the CLEW factsheet How can Germany keep the lights on in a renewable energy future?