In the next few years, a large number of wind turbines will run out of eligibility for feed-in tariffs after twenty years. Even if they are still running well, they are likely to be dismantled for several reasons. Craig Morris investigates. In 2000, Germany’s Renewable Energy Act (EEG) went into effect. Though the country had had feed-in tariffs since the Feed-in Act of 1991, new installations grew for wind power considerably after the EEG became law. The record year was 2002. In addition, solar and biomass systems were also built in significant volumes for the first time after 2000. For PV, the issue is relatively straightforward: the systems have almost no maintenance costs and were largely built on rooftops. Owners can therefore consume the power directly (or store it as battery systems get cheaper). So solar arrays can be left running. For old biomass units, the future is less clear, as a new report (in German) by the Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (LBW) argues. Such systems can be complex, and expensive revamps may be … Continue reading Tear down or leave up all the old wind turbines?