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Snow of tomorrow | The energy transition in conflict

Renewable energies are seen as THE solution to the climate crisis - but where does this leave nature conservation?

by Irene Welebil (ÖAV) • 03/14/2022

Hydropower reservoirs as a massive intervention in the landscape. — Hydropower reservoirs as a massive intervention in the landscape
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Hannes Schlosser

Kölnbreinsperre

In order to achieve the Paris climate targets, the energy transition needs to step up a gear. In Austria, the plan is to generate 100% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The fact that the energy transition must be a major goal for all of us in the fight against the climate crisis is not open to debate. The question is how it will be implemented, as the transformation of the energy supply will have a massive impact on nature and the landscape.

Nature and climate protection often seem irreconcilable - a conflict within their own ranks, so to speak. The Alpine Association is aware that it is high time to start thinking seriously about future energy consumption yesterday rather than today. However, it sees a critical examination of infrastructure projects for energy generation in the Alpine region as a prerequisite for achieving the actual goal: the fight against climate change.

How can both climate protection and nature conservation benefit from the energy transition and why does it make so much sense?

Current situation in Austria and objectives of the Renewable Energy Expansion Act (EAG)

Renewable energies include wind and solar energy, biomass, geothermal energy and hydropower. The topography in western Austria offers ideal conditions for hydropower, which has been greatly expanded over many years, especially in the mountains, and accounts for the largest share of electricity generation from renewable energies. However, the expansion potential of hydropower is almost exhausted, and in future it will be seen in other technologies. Wind energy is produced almost exclusively in the east and north of the country. Its output is set to triple by 2030, although a push towards the south and west and to higher altitudes will be unavoidable. Electricity generation from photovoltaic systems has played a negligible role to date, but its output is set to increase tenfold by 2030.

Conflict areas of renewable energies

Water is dammed or diverted by dams, reservoirs or canals for hydropower utilization. The natural flow of water and habitat conditions are altered as a result: stagnant bodies of water heat up more quickly, entire watercourses are diverted into foreign catchment areas, hydropeaking severely affects the habitat of river-dwelling organisms, power plants act as barriers for fish, the construction of reservoirs and the associated technical infrastructure requires a great deal of land that was previously a habitat for flora and fauna - species extinction is inevitable. The altered flow systems resulting from the diversion of alpine watercourses to reservoirs not only have an impact on the survival of certain species. Especially in dry summers, water scarcity becomes a problem in alpine pastures and agriculture. We humans also suffer from the loss of natural river landscapes, as water resources are tied up and our local recreational areas are lost as a result of damming.

In Austria, wind power has so far concentrated on the lowlands and the foothills of the Alps. However, wind-favorable, well-developed locations have already become rare and wind power is pushing further and further into mountainous regions. However, the conditions for erecting wind turbines in mountainous regions cannot be compared with those in the lowlands, as mountainous regions have sensitive ecosystems. Once these have been destroyed, it is not so easy to restore them. Even if the foundation area of a wind turbine is only 350-500 m², an area of 4,000 m² is completely transformed for construction (excluding the area for access roads and other required infrastructure). Due to the topography in the mountains, the amount of land required for heavy-duty access roads is enormous. In previously untouched natural landscapes, considerable traffic is generated for construction, maintenance and dismantling measures. These measures destroy habitats worthy of protection - the sensitive alpine flora and fauna only adapt to new living conditions to a limited extent. The vertical areas taken up by the rotors should not be underestimated - in current models with a height of 233 m, these amount to 20 ha/wind turbine (~ 40 soccer pitches). These act as a barrier for migratory birds, which ideally leads to a change in flight routes when several turbines are lined up, but unfortunately more often to deaths due to rotor strikes or barotrauma caused by the pressure waves from the rotors. At rotational speeds of up to 500 km/h, birds don't stand a chance. Wind turbines also produce noise, which wild animals avoid and consequently migrate away from these areas.

Photovoltaic systems cannot be implemented in the Alpine region without restrictions either. Apart from the resource-intensive production of photovoltaic panels, these require large areas. If the panels are not installed on existing infrastructure but on open spaces, this is often at the expense of agricultural land.

Problems with the production of biomass are evident, for example, in maize monocultures, which impoverish soils and reduce humus content and biodiversity. More and more grassland has to make way for biomass cultivation, which is counterproductive for climate protection, as the ploughing up of grassland releases vast amounts of CO₂.

Climate protection vs. nature conservation?

It seems as if renewable energies are bad for our nature, yet they are so important for the climate. Are individual birds, fish or a bit of built-up area really more important than clean energy?

Thinking about climate protection without nature conservation is the wrong approach. Kilowatt hours (KWh) gained are of no benefit to climate protection if the benefits for the climate are lost through the loss of biodiversity. Healthy ecosystems, such as oceans, forests or moors, can make a major contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Neither does nature conservation work without climate protection and the switch to renewable energies. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Biodiversity Council IPBES warn of the irreversible consequences of climate change on ecosystems and the associated loss of species, natural disasters and extreme weather events. If CO₂ emissions and temperatures continue to rise as before, nature will lose out anyway - even without the destruction of nature through new technical developments.

Measured in terms of KWh gained or individuals of endangered species saved, it would be more promising for both disciplines on paper to leave the other player out of the equation. This ignores the actual goal, which is to curb global warming. This can only be achieved if climate, environmental, landscape and nature conservation are considered together.

The obstacle here is that neither nature conservationists nor climate protectionists are financing and planning projects, but rather plant operators or energy-producing companies pursuing economic goals. The idea of climate protection makes them look green and the buck stops with nature conservation. Funding policy also plays its part by making it attractive for operators to plan at (less suitable) B locations on the one hand, but not linking any ecological criteria to the allocation of funding on the other.

What is usually completely missing is a discussion about the potential of energy saving. Incentive systems could be used to promote simple measures that would make it unnecessary to build new systems in the first place. However, this awareness and the associated laws are still completely lacking. As long as energy saving is not demanded, energy generation from renewable sources is not sustainable either, because the ever-increasing demand for energy means that fossil fuel plants cannot be shut down. But wasn't that actually the idea behind the energy transition?

Is there a solution?

The solution does not (yet) exist. One important way of avoiding conflicts in advance would be to involve nature conservation organizations in the planning process as early as possible. On the one hand, this applies to the development of legal bases: for example, ecological criteria would have been taken into account in the EAG or technologies would have been prescribed that support the preservation of nature, such as a bird radar, fish ladders, dual use of photovoltaic areas, etc.; on the other hand, this also applies to cooperation in the planning process.

Climate change and the biodiversity crisis are closely linked and mutually reinforcing, which is why true climate protection is only possible if species conservation is also taken into account. The fight against global warming can only succeed if we work together.

Irene Welebil works in the Spatial Planning and Nature Conservation Department of the Austrian Alpine Club and is involved in the critical shaping of the energy transition.

ÖAV Raumplanung und Naturschutz

Handalm wind farm

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