
Paul Zeimet, manager of Soler, looks ahead at the year 2040 and what his company could achieve by then, considering that his company ranked first in Luxembourg for wind power, owning 49 of 74 windmills.
First of all, the priority is to achieve the objectives that the government has set to accomplish by 2030. In five years, Luxembourg is supposed to use renewable energiy to cover 40% of electricity usage. However, there is still work to do in terms of installing solar panels and windmills.
The first wind park was built 28 years ago in Mompach, consisting of four wind mills which have already been removed and replaced by modern ones. A modern windmill produces three times as much electricity as the previous ones, and technological advancements are not stalling.
"If I look at the current state of wind turbines, such as those we have in operation in Luxembourg, produced by the German company Enercon, we have machines with a rotor diameter of 138 meters and a height of 160 meters. These turbines are capable of producing between 12 and 16 gigawatt per hour. With such equipment, just over 100 turbines would be enough to meet our goals," explains Paul Zeimet.
Luxembourg already produces enough renewable energy to cover private households. 470 gigawatt per hour are produced by the windmills. Yet, to get the production up to 1,043 gigawatt per hour in the next five years, the new machines need to be installed at a much quicker rate.
Therefore the energy roundtable gathered last week to discuss the future:
“To create a unique service point which enables individuals to question the stages of procedure for wind energy. Then we need a set of rules to clearly limit delays, notably for the environmental permits. At the moment, there are no delays, which means it will take over 6, 7 or 8 months. Essentially, we are calling for fixed deadlines, along with the simplification and digitalisation of the entire process.”
The advantage of next generation windmills
It’s no coincidence that the government relies on both wind and solar energy; both are essential, says the expert. However, wind turbines require significantly more space than solar panels to achieve the same level of efficiency. Currently, energy storage remains a major challenge. Wind turbines must be shut down over the weekend to avoid excessive production. On this issue, new technologies, such as pumped-storage hydroelectric stations, offer potential solutions.
“With the pumped storage plant in Vianden, the highest performing tank in the German realm is already situated in Luxembourg. That is something I also highlight in public conferences. That means, if we look at Luxembourg to see what we can still change, then we need to do as much as possible in the renewable category, we need to do our homework when it comes to wind and solar energy. And I am convinced, that with future battery storage, which still need to be installed, hydrogen, green, or locally-produced hydrogen, that these are opportunities to hold back energy spikes."
Looking at 2040, Paul Zeimet believes that the government could set more ambitious goals in terms of renewable energy. Windmills, as suggested at the energy roundtable, can be built closer to highways, streets, industrial zones or coniferous forests. Then, there is also more work to be done in terms of people’s acceptance:
“Often one needs to do the splits: ‘How close am I to the next village? Yet I am not allowed to be too close to the forest, so I need to stay away.’ If it is a coniferous forest, and it enables one to make the first step towards people’s acceptance: the machines are far away from the village, but closer to the forest, which is a compromise worth considering.”