Olrik Hopfmann-Poller, you are the head of the citizens' initiative in Thuringia on the subject of wind turbines.
They are speakers at demonstrations, networkers, champions.
Welcome to Kla. TV.
Yes, how did you actually become aware of the topic?
How do you feel about this? Where does your critical attitude come from?
Many years ago, I attended an information event organized by the local citizens' initiative and had to rethink my attitude.
For me, it used to be a relatively ecological, good topic to use the planet's resources sensibly.
I didn't know anything about the dangers, about the effects, and that has deepened enormously in recent years thanks to a lot of
information, a lot of specialist knowledge that I have acquired.
And in this respect, the picture has completely changed.
Then let's take a look at your points of criticism.
You can summarize this quite simply.
The so-called energy transition, which suggests to people that all of this can be implemented
sensibly, ecologically and economically, is a sheer lie.
There are many points of criticism that people are not aware of.
Above all, the economic impact can be taken into account.
The wind turbines themselves were designed to produce electricity from the wind, from wind energy, and to store it
accordingly and make it available to citizens and industry.
The idea is good at first, the implementation is bad because this electricity cannot be stored in bulk.
This has led to us the highest electricity prices in the world, as we can see here right now, for example:
We are the front runners when it comes to prices.
This leads to a threat to the economy, to a huge burden on citizens, people and households.
And we have a previously hidden danger that has just recently materialized, for example the dangers of a blackout or brownout.
In the meantime, the Federal Office has also informed the citizens there because there is a huge load on the
electricity grids due to the incorrect implementation of this energy transition, which could lead to a collapse.
And that is of course an absolute disaster for a society that needs and wants to be
supplied with electricity in almost all areas.
These turbines, these large wind turbines, seem to be like gentle giants that stand in nature, that turn from time to
time and that should actually only bring benefits for people.
That is how it is presented. But that is not the case.
This is an industrial plant that is now being built in a biotope at many locations, in the
forest, and often in water protection areas.
There are dangers arising from the operation of this system.
This can be, for example, the abrasion of the materials attached to the blade of a wind turbine, which lead to
microparticles being introduced into the environment as a result of environmental influences.
This can pose considerable risks to health, to wildlife and, of course, to humans, because these
microparticles lead to toxic exposure for the organism.
These are investigations that I did not carry out, but that come from state authorities.
The Fraunhofer Institute and the Federal Environment Agency, among others, had to point these things out.
There are around 1500 places in Germany that are contaminated with these PFAS, where in some cases the
groundwater can no longer be drunk or the water has to be filtered before it can be spread on the fields.
That is highly dangerous.
That is why the EU is carrying out the relevant investigations, which we will come to later.
Okay, that sounds very dangerous. But when I look at the picture, it looks like "very little" is being rubbed off here.
Shall we take a quick look at the movie?
Yes, that would explain a lot.
Let's start the movie.
And then we have the special feature of the rotor blades.
The rotor blades therefore consist of GRP-GFC mix materials with epoxy resin, including bisphenol A and PFAS permanent chemicals,
i.e. a highly toxic material, which not only leads to considerable abrasion during operation of the turbines, but is
also undisputedly represented by the wind industry itself.
But not only with regard to the microparticles that are then detached from the surface and the perpetual chemicals that are
then embedded in the surrounding fields and agricultural areas and can no longer be removed, but the wind industry confirms this
by saying that yes, we have considerable surface loss on the rotors every year because of
the edge problems, but they are being repaired.
They also have to be repaired, because the rougher the surface, the louder the wind turbine becomes.
Because the rotor blades are the essential sound emission feature.
The economic yield of the rotor blade surface is also reduced by the roughness.
So there are various accounts according to which the system generates 1, 2, 3 percent less electricity per year due to
the abrasion of the surface, which makes the surface so rough.
That's why they have to be repaired regularly, and that alone confirms the inherent abrasion that takes place on
the surfaces, otherwise they wouldn't need to be repaired.
And this abrasion, you can argue about it, but there are considerations from the Scientific Service of the Bundestag from
2020 based on Fraunhofer of 30-meter-long rotor blades, where 10 meters are relevant, where considerable abrasion takes place
and that leads to 45 kg of abrasion per year per wind turbine.
Well, we no longer have rotor blades that are 30 meters long, we now have rotor blades that are at least 80
meters long - and they are heading towards 100 meters!
So if we assume only 80-meter-long rotor blades, which are standard today, we have to assume a length of about 40 meters,
which are exposed to weather, aggression and abrasion, and not 10 meters, as assumed by the Scientific Service and Fraunhofer.
This means that it is no longer 45 kg per year, but 45 times 4 = 180 kg per year per wind turbine.
And if you multiply 180 kg by 25 years of operation, that's between 2 and 3 tons of microparticles and perpetual
chemicals released into the environment per wind turbine.
This is not a problem for the operator at first, as he can have the surface and the rotors repaired every year.
But the surrounding area, especially if it is agricultural land for the production of food, naturally suffers because there is
continuous contamination with microparticles and perpetual chemicals, which after 20 or 25 years must naturally mean
that this land can no longer be used for food production.
This is more or less an expropriation for the farmers.
So, what we've heard now, it's not just a few grams, you were talking about several tons here.
Yes, it's frightening to see what kind of stress there is from the abrasion.
And it's not just the only health burden, there's also the burden of infrasound, which is inaudible to humans.
This infrasound is so dangerous because it is not audible to the human ear.
But due to the permanent exposure - similar to a drop of water that keeps dripping, dripping, dripping -
there is a strain on the nervous system and the cardiovascular system for sensitive people.
And people are deprived of their sleep in this sense.
Studies have shown that this can also put a strain on the heart muscle.
This has been established at the German University in Mainz.
And the people who are sensitive to this are not only deprived of their sleep, but this can lead to people having
to move away from where these facilities are being built.
Even despite the large gap so far?
Yes. These turbines are now almost 300 meters high.
They are being erected at a height because the good locations on the coast have already been taken.
That's why they have to build upwards.
And that's why the infrasound that is transmitted there can be felt for miles.
The minimum distances that the government has set there are far too small.
And if there is not just one plant there, but several plants that have a concentrated effect on the human body, then people are or
can be exposed to very high levels of stress, so that they no longer have a good
quality of life there, but become ill as a result.
There are associations like BUND that have taken up the cause of protecting all this.
I quote, according to BUND, wind energy poses no fundamental threat to our forests,
our birds or to health or nature in general.
Yes, people believe that BUND, as a representative of the interests of nature and
the environment, wants something good here.
But he's not doing that right now.
As we can see on the website of this association, it even works together with the wind turbine companies.
It says that they work together with the umbrella organizations in terms of content and that is a clear
conflict of interest and is not independence for me.
That's exciting, so if you've already got a bit of a feel for what's going on with the wind turbines, you'd think
the authorities would already know about it and intervene.
What are your experiences with all the authorities?
Yes, you would think that an authority would act for the benefit of the citizen in accordance with the precautionary principle
in order to prevent damage to health and the environment.
But it does not.
Our experience has been as follows:
We provided these authorities, in this case the environmental agency and the district office, with a lot of information
before the wind turbines were erected, with statements, expert opinions and facts that can no longer be denied.
And the authority did not react by doing nothing.
For me, this is absolutely outrageous, because compliance with the Basic Law is also a top priority for a public authority.
In addition, the system operator must prove that no damage is caused by his system.
And an environmental authority, as a subordinate office of the district office, has to check these things
that are questionable, where there is a risk of danger, in order to prevent major damage.
But it does not.
So we sent many emails to a total of four authorities. The response was zero.
There was no feedback.
And in our case, these wind turbines were first approved in part and planning permission was granted.
And that is, of course, a very strong legal argument and unacceptable.
In other words, if the authorities and politicians and, as we are sure to hear, the media want to push this
technology through, then the question arises as to why.
Yes, we asked ourselves the same question.
The approach can perhaps be described in one word - ideology.
For me, this is a green ideology that cannot be implemented.
Because what does the energy transition mean?
We want to use the planet's resources.
We want to use it properly, I say, for the people, so that they make a profit from it, so
that the environment, I say, doesn't suffer.
And one way of trying to do this is by erecting thousands of wind turbines, which are unable to achieve the goal.
It is pure political ideology, but it does not work in practice.
And that is of course one thing, why are politicians acting in this way?
Why isn't there a stop?
Why don't people think about the facts and think rationally?
And the question for me is, are the politicians not competent enough in this case?
Isn't that what they want?
Are they dependent that they don't want to take action?
And why is every effort being made to push this issue through when the world as a whole is
not going along with this German special path?
So I have to assume in part that we have a dependent policy that doesn't care about our home,
our country, and in that sense is damaging us.
In your citizens' initiative, you have already had some experience of how to become active in a very
practical way as a person who wants to do something.
Why don't you tell us about it?
We have now been fighting this madness for ten years.
And part of the success is the cohesion, the networking with other affected people in other citizens' initiatives.
It is important that people come together, that not everyone fights alone, that they exchange experiences, facts,
information material, expert opinions, legal advice, etc.
And also support each other with manpower on site.
Of course, this involves a lot of work, a lot of time and a great deal of commitment from people.
And if you've been doing this for many years, then I know what I'm talking about.
We have already achieved a lot there.
We printed newspapers, flyers.
We held protest events, wrote statements and petitions.
We made it all the way to the Erfurt state parliament.
We have a good network with politicians because they are important contacts who need to hear us.
But the goal, the big goal for the whole of Germany should be to exert so much pressure on the political decision-makers
that concentrated action leads to a reaction in the Bundestag.
Because that is where the decision is made.
We have a legal situation that comes from the Bundestag and has an impact on the individual federal states.
And only a coalition of the people affected can bring success.
Alone, you are quite lonely in the wide open spaces.
I always compare it to the peasant armies in the Middle Ages.
If you put them together, they were strong.
That could be an approach, first of all, of course, to join forces and to continue to work steadily and
consistently on this issue, not to let up and to say to politicians that this is as far as it goes and no further.
We will not let up.
We will continue to work on this topic.
And we will always keep an eye on you, always keep a close eye on what you do.
And we want and will continue to demand change until it happens.
Because the danger situation there is extreme. It is recognizable.
And we have a responsibility for ourselves, for our families, for our country.
And that's why there's no giving up, but fighting to the end.
We have noticed that citizens' initiatives are springing up like mushrooms almost everywhere.
Especially on the subject of wind power.
What else can you give these young citizens' initiatives?
The most important thing I just mentioned is networking.
This means that citizens' initiatives are of course welcome to contact us.
And we try to provide guidance there, help with the things that have already happened to us, that we have already experienced.
The bottom line is that a certain amount of experience is necessary because the legal situation is complicated.
It has been exacerbated by the last government, especially as far as the Green Ministry of the Environment is concerned.
And it is very important to provide guidance so that people know exactly what they should do.
In the regional area, or supra-regionally.
That's why we have a coalition of citizens' initiatives from all over Thuringia.
What we are already implementing with many other citizens' initiatives.
And that should and must grow, of course.
To this end, we have created a portal where all information can flow in, where every
citizens' initiative can take things from it.
And of course, personal contact is very important.
Because it is important for people to support each other.
And whether it's a little closer or further away no longer matters.
The crucial thing is that everyone supports everyone else so that we are recognized in politics.
Yes, very nice. You have just put personal contact at the top of the list.
And you also said in the preliminary discussion that you are planning a major campaign
soon, which is not directly aimed at politics.
But tell us a little more about this campaign.
We are trying to attract national attention with a campaign.
This will soon manifest itself with a flyer that is quite expressive.
I referred earlier to the dangers posed by wind turbines.
And that is why, in the foreseeable future, we will be working with many other citizens' initiatives to inform citizens at
least a thousand times across Thuringia and will be the point of contact for interested citizens who want to know more.
After this flyer campaign, there will be many information events where the whole thing can be brought closer to the
citizens in appropriate presentations with factually sound information, so that a wake-up call can finally happen.
And then, of course, the citizens or we as citizens' initiatives, who unite the protest, gain even more weight in
politics and the issue is raised to the top of the agenda because it is extremely important.
Health is the most important thing these days, not just energy security.
And when health is no longer there, life suffers. And that's not a nice option.
Yes. You have now given absolute focus to education, i.e. informing the affected citizens who simply don't know this yet.
And my last question would be, to whom could the information be passed on?
Who is open to such information now?
This includes, above all, the farmers, as the wind turbines are often placed on fields
where the corresponding products are produced.
This includes the forestry authorities, who should of course also keep an eye on animal welfare issues in the forest and nature.
Above all, this also includes the water protection authorities and the water supply companies,
which are of course responsible for drinking water.
Because if there are dangers there - I briefly highlighted the dangers earlier - then this can lead to extreme
toxic exposure, which can put a strain on all of our health.
I said earlier that there are already 1,500 places in Germany that are contaminated with PFAS.
And so it is also a duty to oneself, to one's own health, that one demands, inquires, informs and points out to these
authorities or these companies that things can have an effect on people, on nature, on animals, which can be dangerous.
And then appropriate information should be provided.
My recommendation is always to bundle this together and present it to politicians so that we speak with one voice, so to speak.
Good, thank you very much for these clear options, for the suggested steps.
We will definitely accompany this with Kla.TV and support it to the best of our ability. Thank you very much.
Thank you for your support and I hope that many people will now realize that this is a very important issue and that
everyone should be concerned with it. Thank you very much.
If you want to know why this technology continues to be promoted despite all the negative
effects, we recommend the following program.