The claim

It is claimed that wind farms are switched off in order to speculate on the price of electricity on the stock exchange and an artificial electricity shortage can be created.

Our conclusion

The electricity infrastructure in Germany is not developed enough to transport electricity from wind farms further away, so shutdowns are unfortunately often necessary because too much electricity is produced.

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On the surface, it really sounds crazy: Why are wind farms being shut down while discussions about a possible electricity shortage are constantly in the press and the price of electricity isn't exactly low? After the operator of a wind farm was openly upset about it, one site suspected an artificial electricity shortage and that “ the public is being cheated and ripped off .”
We consider whether the allegations are justified.

The excitement surrounding the shutdown of a wind farm

Certain circles only became aware of the problem through an article on a relevant site (archived HERE ), which appeared in September 2022, but is still making waves: A wind farm is being artificially throttled by the direct marketer “Westfalenwind Strom GmbH” and thus on the electricity exchange You can “gamble” with the price and electricity remains scarce.

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The article from a relevant site ( archived source )

The site apparently became aware of the issue through the wind farm operator's blog (archived HERE ), where he repeatedly complained about the shutdowns of his wind turbines.

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Excerpt from the operator's blog ( archived source )

According to the operator, there was also contact with the managing director of the direct marketer “Westfalenwind Strom GmbH”, who explained to him that the system would be switched off for economic reasons However, the operator does not go into detail as to exactly what reasons were given to him.

Why are wind farms shut down?

Many people are probably asking themselves this question: there is a decent breeze blowing, but the wind turbines you drive past are standing still. How can that be? Why are there warnings about electricity shortages but the wind turbines are not used? Is the operator of the wind farm perhaps right and that side perhaps right? Is there an “electricity price conspiracy”?

The answer is not a grand conspiracy that is revealed there, but can be summarized in two simple words: electricity surplus and electricity infrastructure .

We will now look at both points in more detail. First of all, a note: We will explain the processes in a simplified manner so as not to unnecessarily clutter up the article with technical terms. However, this should make the principle clear to everyone.

In a telephone conversation with the direct marketer “Westfalenwind Strom GmbH”, which the operator denounced, we were able to find out in detail what “economic reasons” the operator of the wind farm was writing about and what the exact problem was - information that the operator himself also received , which he doesn't write about on his blog.

The electricity surplus

Wind farms have two major advantages: they can be switched on and off quickly, and they are extremely effective when there is enough wind. Sometimes even too effective for the electricity infrastructure (we'll get to that in a moment), so they generate more electricity than can be dissipated.

And there lies problem No. 1: If more electricity is generated than can be dissipated, the price of electricity drops to the negative, which would mean that the wind farm operator would even have to pay for generating electricity. So the system is shut down because of that.

Why isn't a polluting brown coal power plant shut down instead?

The shutdowns of the wind farms are of course annoying for the operators, even if they are compensated for them through the price of electricity. They also always happen at short notice, which is not possible with a slow-burning coal-fired power plant. These take hours to shut down and hours to start up again, whereas with a wind farm you just have to flip a switch.

But why does it always hit this one wind farm?

This may seem like a chicanery to the operator, but according to “Westfalenwind Strom GmbH”, it is also due to economic efficiency: According to the direct marketer (see HERE ), the corresponding Fürstenau wind farm has an output of 9.35 MW and was built from 2003 to 2005.

This means that it is by no means the youngest, but also not the oldest wind farm, and in the Steinheim/Nieheim/Brakel/Holzminden area it is also the only wind power plant that could be switched off. However, the age of the system definitely plays a role, as modern systems can achieve the same performance in a much shorter time.

The electricity infrastructure

This is a factor that neither the operator of the wind farm nor the direct marketer can change, but only politics. Because what still doesn't really exist in Germany is a consistent and effective infrastructure that makes it possible to transport the electricity generated over longer distances.

To stay with the current case: If an excess of electricity is produced in Paderborn, there is no infrastructure to transport the electricity to Bielefeld, which is only around 50 kilometers away, where there may be an electricity shortage. Because of this, the wind farm unfortunately has to be shut down.

Let's summarize

It is therefore a situation that is unsatisfactory for both parties: the wind farm operator has to have his system switched off, the direct marketer cannot pass on excess electricity produced, which means that around 5 percent of electricity is lost every year - and this due to a lack of electricity infrastructure which neither party can do anything about.

So there is no “electricity price conspiracy” on the part of direct marketers, it is simply the rather sad realization that Germany would be much further along with renewable energies if politicians paid more attention to expanding the electricity infrastructure - then it would The specter of “power shortages” no longer haunts the press as often.

Also interesting: Wind turbines are technological marvels.
They generate either electricity or wind - at least that's what they keep saying. The latest spin from wind power opponents is: wind turbines ensure calm winds. Sounds absurd? It is. – No wind deaths caused by wind power


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