Sustainable electricity also has dark sides

Greening our electricity production is not only a financial issue, but also raises the question of whether we are not creating new problems by doing so? Such as the deterioration of living conditions in the North Sea due to the construction of new wind farms. If you ask the fishermen, the answer is definitely yes.

What about the dark side of sustainable energy? The countries around the North Sea have very ambitious goals to industrialize the area by building many new wind farms. Until 2050, the generation capacity of wind farms in the North Sea must be increased by a factor of 15 to 70 GW. That is a lot of new wind farms, which will take up a significant part of the area. Unfortunately, scientific research into their ecological impact is lagging behind this ambitious rollout of offshore wind farms. On the one hand, policymakers see it as absolutely necessary to achieve their green goals, but on the other hand, it is becoming increasingly clear that there are significant negative impacts on life in the North Sea.

Problematic side effects
The question is, can we know the consequences? It has been known for a long time, but now further research shows that offshore wind has extremely problematic side effects on plankton, marine mammals, flatfish and other marine life. Wind turbines appear to disrupt plankton growth in certain areas of the North Sea. This poses a risk because plankton is at the beginning of the food chain. If something happens to this, it could have consequences for all marine life. Laying thousands of kilometers of power cable across the seabed to bring green energy to land is also not without risk. Sharks and rays and certainly their embryos are sensitive to electromagnetic fields.

In addition, the noise from pile driving for thousands of new turbines, which causes major damage to fish stocks, is also a problem. The turbine piles have a diameter of up to 10 meters and have to be driven into the ground about 100 meters. This is done by hammering them in, as it were. For example, TU Delft is now investigating whether there is a way to get the piles for wind turbines into the seabed in a low-noise manner. Researchers from Wageningen University estimate that thousands of gannets die every year from collisions with the blades of the turbines. But it is not all negative, because there are also studies that indicate that wind turbines can serve as a new habitat for mussels and other mollusks.

Bridging contradictions
The situation in the North Sea is a good example of the contradictions that must be bridged to achieve a sustainable energy system. 'Clean' electricity generation will also lead to negative sustainability consequences. Also consider what needs to be done with all those solar panels and wind turbines that will reach the end of their life cycle in a few years. About 80% of the solar panels on our roofs contain PFAS. A substance that is harmful to our body and also to animals and the environment.

Wind turbine blades also contain all kinds of toxic materials such as Bisphenol A and composite. Because recycling of current solar panels and wind turbine blades is not (yet) possible, there is a risk that a 'sustainable' waste mountain will be created that contains toxic substances such as PFAS. All these negative consequences are now often dismissed by climate alarmists, with the argument that the climate crisis forces us to green our electricity as quickly as possible. Losing sight of the dark sides of a sustainable energy supply.

Kasper Walter

Kasper Walet is a former board member of the agricultural futures market. He has now been working under the name Maycroft for years as an independent adviser on energy and climate to governments and companies from all over the world.

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