World's largest wind turbine, taller than Eiffel Tower, rises in eastern Germany amid far-right criticism
The project is being watched with interest abroad, but it is causing discussion in Lusatia, a mining region where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is getting very good results, writes AFP.
A mega-wind turbine that will be taller than the Eiffel Tower is being built in eastern Germany, symbolizing a complex energy transition in a mining region sensitive to far-right anti-renewable energy rhetoric.
Its German designer, the Gicon company, is relying on a technological breakthrough to build what it claims is the world's largest onshore wind turbine, at 365 meters tall, by the end of the year.
“This means twice the efficiency of classic wind turbines,” Jochen Grossmann, founder of the Dresden-based group, explained to AFP.
The project, funded by the state with 20-30 million euros through its innovation agency (SPRIND), is being watched with interest abroad, but it is causing controversy in Lusatia, a mining region where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is doing very well.
“No Alternative”
The future wind turbine now measures 100 meters, almost as tall as the approximately 50 similar turbines that populate the Schipkau wind farm, built in 2000.
Why build even higher? The wind is blowing stronger and more consistently, Grossmann explained.
His company developed a kind of telescopic tower to reach heights unexplored by wind turbines.
The steel giant will thus be able to provide electricity for 7,500 households for a whole year, assured Frank Adam, the director of the site.
The project has been delayed by about a year and is incurring “significantly higher” costs than normal, it added.
Boss Gicon praised the project which he considers crucial because “in Germany we have no alternative but solar and wind” with the abandonment of coal and nuclear power.
All the more so since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, caused by the Israeli-American war in Iran, shows that “we are entering a new dependence on gas and oil”, added the entrepreneur.
The extreme right criticizes renewable energy
Conservative economy minister Katherina Reiche has talked about the high cost of renewables and said she wants to develop gas plants.
This mega-wind turbine, writes AFP, illustrates an attempt by Europe's first economy to stay in the race for energy innovation amid the industrial crisis, chronic underinvestment and skyrocketing energy prices caused by the wars in Ukraine and Iran.
Around the town of Schipkau, huge surface coal mines, a former source of prosperity for the country, are being phased out by 2038, in line with Berlin's climate targets.
This complex transition has created fertile ground for the far-right AfD party, a big supporter of fossil fuels, the resumption of Russian gas imports and a critic of phasing out coal.
The party won almost half of the votes in Schipkau in the 2025 federal election.
“Citizen Engagement”
Germany's main opposition party has also highlighted the issue of microplastics emitted into the air by wind turbines, although scientific studies have found no health impact.
“When there are such fundamental effects on residents, they should be consulted,” said Birgit Bessin, the AfD federal deputy in this constituency, also pointing out the opposition of hunters and a local airport.
In office for 16 years, the independent mayor of Schipkau insisted on direct economic benefits to convince critics: 60% of local tax revenue comes from renewable energies.
With these profits, the town hall thus pays 80 euros per inhabitant every year, “a measure of acceptance”, according to the mayor.
Birgit Bessin retorted that he wanted to “buy the people” and called for an end to subsidies for renewable energies.
