Berlin could use disused airfields for wind turbines, says state govt official

Berlin could use its two disused airfields to build wind turbines on, Christian Gräff, member of the Berlin House of Representatives with the ruling Christian Democrats (CDU), told newspaper Tagesspiegel. “In principle, I can imagine this [at the recently closed] Tegel Airport and, for example, on Tempelhofer Feld,” Gräff said. Under Germany’s Renewable Energy Act, Berlin must designate 0.5 percent of its area to the expansion of wind power by 2032, but, like many other major cities, Germany’s capital has limited space for local renewable power generation. Janna Einöder, spokesperson for environmental NGO NABU, said she’s critical of the plans, pointing to the fact that there is a large bird sanctuary at Tegel Airport, Tagesspiegel reports. There are currently nine wind turbines in the city of Berlin, most of them near the northern border with the state of Brandenburg.

Germany’s federal government committed to designating 2 percent of the country’s land area to onshore wind power by 2032. As part of this commitment, the country’s three city states – Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen – must use 0.5 percent of their area for wind power by that deadline (0.25% by 2027). Wind power is Germany’s most important renewable energy source and is projected to become the backbone of the country’s energy system in the shift away from fossil fuels. As part of its bid to achieve 80 percent renewables in the country’s electricity mix, Germany’s government is aiming for a capacity of 115 GW by 2030, from just under 60 GW in mid-2023.