Perched 200 meters high, the blades of the 55 wind turbines emit only a slight rustle in the air, almost imperceptible from the houses located a hundred meters away. For twelve years, the site has been producing 100% green energy, explains the mayor of Feldheim, German village of Brandenburg, renowned for its sobriety. “We wondered what to do with our resources. We had wind, which is free. And we had a lot of land, so we decided to do this experiment“, enthuses Michael Knape.
A speech that finds a whole new echo at the time of the energy crisis linked to the war in Ukraine. The subject will be at the heart of a meeting of EU energy ministers on Tuesday 25 October in Luxembourg, and Feldheim could serve as an example. “No law allowed us, but no law prohibited usremembers the mayor of Feldheim. Pioneering projects always start with crazy ideas and nobody else has replicated this device in Germany yet.“
“The kilowatt hour is four times cheaper than what others pay”
Erich, resident of FeldheimFrance Info
Wind turbines generate 250 million kilowatt hours each year. Enough to supply electricity to a town of 60,000 inhabitants. Feldheim has only 130. This allows the village to sell 99% of its production to the general network. The rest benefits the inhabitants, with a very competitive price. “For us, it’s great! We pay 12 cents per kilowatt hour, instead of 40 cents or even morerejoices Erich, 67 years old. With us the price is fixed, we don’t have to worry about the crisis causing prices to soar.”
With the energy crisis, Feldheim arouses more and more curiosity. In recent weeks, visits have multiplied, delegations from all over the world, in search of inspiration, flock there. “Many come from Asia, the United States, but also from Europe, Scandinavia, describes Kathleen Thompson, in charge of facility tours. This year the number of visits exploded with the energy crisis. We are very proud of what we have achieved in our village. It is always possible to copy us, but at the moment no other German municipality has its own electricity network.”
A biogas plant, fueled by pig manure, provides heating for the inhabitants. The village sees the arrival of winter without fear of shortages or soaring energy prices.