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Washington Post
03-07-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
‘Beautiful' coal, ‘ugly' solar. How Trump reframed the energy debate.
President Donald Trump's plans for the future of American energy don't include wind or solar. One argument he has trotted out lately: They're 'ugly as hell.' Trump has said he wants to meet growing U.S. energy demands using nuclear, oil, gas and especially coal. 'I call it clean, beautiful coal,' he told Fox News's Maria Bartiromo this week. 'I don't want windmills destroying our place. I don't want these solar things where they go for miles and they cover up a half a mountain that are ugly as hell.' This aesthetic objection to renewable energy is something of a long-running critique from Trump. In the past he's called wind farms 'unsightly' and 'garbage,' while referring to wind turbines themselves as 'big, ugly suckers' that are 'rusting and rotting.' Trump's Aberdeenshire golf club unsuccessfully sued to block a wind project off the coast of Scotland on the grounds that it would spoil the view. To be sure, it's not just Trump who considers renewables unsightly. Solar and wind farms have an enormous visible footprint, requiring significantly more land than nuclear, natural gas or coal to produce the same amount of energy. They also run the risk of sustaining damage from particularly fierce natural disasters like tornadoes and hurricanes. Plenty of projects in the United States have faced opposition from people concerned they would be an eyesore, hurting property values and tourism. The federal agencies that oversee permitting are obligated to conduct visual impact assessments and consider local stakeholders' feedback. But Trump's particular formulation raises the question: Which energy sources are least offensive to the eye? What surprises some energy experts is not the president's distain for renewables, but his argument that fossil fuels are somehow more beautiful. 'Everyone has their own view of what's beautiful and what's not, but I have a hard time understanding how people could think that solar panels are such a desecration of the land while mountaintop drilling or drilling for natural gas and crude oil is not,' said Severin Borenstein, faculty director of the University of California at Berkeley's Haas School of Business Energy Institute. Some experts who spoke with The Washington Post noted that much of the visual impact of renewables is localized at a single site, whereas fossil fuel production involves multiple sites, with potential for multiple eyesores. 'It's not just the coal-fired power plant that's going to be in my local area with the big smoke stacks,' Stephen Jarvis, an assistant professor of environmental economics at the London School of Economics, said. 'It's all the upstream supply chain, thinking about the railway tracks that are bringing coal to that area, all the way to the huge mine that's probably affecting a large part of the natural landscape as well.' There's also the visual impact of fossil-fuel emissions. 'Conventional fuels have — from an aesthetic point of view — an enormous impact, not only on climate change but visibility impairment everywhere,' Martin Pasqualetti, a geography professor at Arizona State University, has written extensively about the visual impacts of renewable energy landscapes. 'With the pollution that coal-burning power plants, refineries and oil put out, I think there's no comparison.' Experts have found that people who oppose renewables on aesthetic grounds tend not to have lived near fossil-fuel sources. And just because a community is pushing back against renewable projects doesn't mean residents would prefer a nuclear plant, a mine or a coal-fired power station in their neighborhood. 'If you look at research on pretty much any energy technology, it's pretty rare that people are thrilled about having this big piece of industrial infrastructure in their backyard,' Jarvis said. But from a policy perspective, the energy has to be generated somehow. 'Everything we do is going to have a visual impact; most of what we do is going to have a noise impact — although solar farms are probably the least impactful in that area, and some of the things we do are going to have a health impact,' Borenstein said. 'None of this stuff is going to be entirely free from these spillovers, and we have to make a choice.' A burgeoning field within design and architecture is devoted to making renewable energy more aesthetically pleasing. Some projects such as bladeless wind turbines and hummingbird-inspired blades use sleek designs to mitigate concerns about noise and visual distractions. Others, like the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation's DNA-shaped turbines and El Paso International Airport's illuminated installation, also serve an artistic purpose. Robert Sullivan, a former visual impact assessment consultant for federal agencies, said the geometric design of solar and wind technology makes it more conducive to artistic innovation than fossil-fuel sites. 'From a design sense, they have some things going for them because they're sculptural,' Sullivan said. 'A pretty large number of people actually like looking at wind turbines and solar facilities. You never really ever get people saying they like looking at strip mines or open pit mines or refineries, because if you've seen a refinery, you know it's visually chaotic.' Pasqualetti points to Palm Springs, California, as an example of a 180-degree turnaround in public perceptions about the aesthetics of renewables. The community — once fiercely opposed to wind farms — now opts for new renewable projects over other energy sources. 'In Palm Springs, there were people who were suing the local jurisdictions because the wind turbines were obstructing their view,' Pasqualetti said. 'Nowadays, a generation later, they're promoting wind turbines for tourism, people are getting married in the wind turbine fields, they have wind turbines on the logos of one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the country at Indian Wells.' Pasqualetti said a shift in aesthetic perceptions of renewables is well underway in other places as well. 'The fact that you can see them at all is something to be happy about because it means they don't have the same pollution,' Pasqualetti said. 'All you have to do is get used to the fact that they're there. And in fact it's a reminder that what you've chosen is, in all other ways, the most advantageous.'
National Post
01-07-2025
- Business
- National Post
Record Financing for NeXtWind: €1.4 Billion for the Expansion of Wind Energy in Germany
Article content Innovative platform financing enables debt investments in renewable energy on an unprecedented scale NeXtWind plans to quadruple the capacity of more than half of its 37 wind farms by 2028 as part of an increase of its total generation capacity to 3 GW Lars B. Meyer, Co-CEO of NeXtWind, said: 'Thanks to this novel platform approach, we can optimize our wind farms more quickly and accelerate our growth. In the long term, we aim to transform them into state-of-the-art, integrated clean energy hubs.' Article content BERLIN — NeXtWind, a leading renewable energy company, has secured €1.4 billion in debt financing. The agreement also includes an additional €1.3 billion in so-called accordion facilities, which can be activated in tranches over the coming years. Article content This syndicated loan is the largest of its kind for an independent wind energy provider in Germany, and it opens the onshore wind market to debt investments from major financial institutions both domestically and internationally. NeXtWind will use the new financing to modernize more than half of its wind farms, increasing their generation capacity to over 1 GW by 2028. Subsequently, the company plans to further develop these wind farms into sustainable energy infrastructure hubs. Article content 'This financing is a significant milestone for NeXtWind and testament to the confidence in our business model,' explains Lars B. Meyer, Co-CEO of NeXtWind. 'Thanks to this novel platform approach, we can optimize our wind farms more quickly and accelerate our growth. In the long term, we aim to transform them into state-of-the-art, integrated hubs that can generate, store and distribute energy from various renewable sources in a grid-friendly manner at the right time – all in one place.' Article content A pioneer in renewable energy Article content Since its founding in 2020, NeXtWind has established itself as a leading independent player in the renewable energy sector. The company acquires and optimizes existing wind farms by installing new turbines alongside state-of-the-art technology ('repowering'). NeXtWind's repowering capacity currently stands at approximately 1.4 GW, with an expected completion date set for 2026. This enables around one million households to be supplied with green electricity every year. In the medium term, NeXtWind is pursuing an ambitious growth strategy. By 2028, it aims to increase the generation capacity to 3 GW. This will be achieved through a combination of wind farms included in the financing and newly built projects ('greenfield'), among others. Article content Innovative financing model on an unprecedented scale Article content This successful debt financing is an important step towards advancing the energy transition. The concept is based on a financing model for onshore wind projects that is unique in Germany to date. Rather than financing individual wind farms separately, existing and future projects are bundled into an innovative platform, leveraging portfolio efficiencies. Once repowering is complete, individual wind farms can be offered as attractive long-term green investment opportunities to a broader range of investors through capital market instruments. Article content The €1.4 billion loan package consists of five core components tailored to the various financial requirements of repowering, including a term loan for acquisitions and investments as well as flexible guarantee lines. This innovative financing approach opens up institutional debt capital on a new scale and creates the basis for scalable financing of infrastructure solutions in the renewable energy sector. Article content Lazard structured the financing and accompanied the entire process as exclusive financial advisor to NeXtWind. Deutsche Bank, ING Bank and LBBW act as underwriters, mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners on the transaction. Deutsche Bank also serves as Global Coordinator, while ING Bank further supports as Green Loan Coordinator, Facility and Security Agent. Renowned insurance companies have also joined the transaction upon closing of the loan agreement to provide part of the guarantee line. Article content Further information on NeXtWind can be found here. Article content About NeXtWind: Article content NeXtWind is a leading renewable energy provider with offices in Berlin and London. Since its founding in 2020, the company has focused on acquiring and optimizing existing wind farms ('repowering'). It currently operates 37 onshore wind farms with a total capacity of 450 MW and has a total repowering capacity of around 1.4 GW. The company aims to increase its total generation capacity to 3 GW by 2028. Article content In the long term, NeXtWind seeks to build up a sustainable energy infrastructure ('Cleanfrastructure') in Europe. To this end, NeXtWind plans to develop integrated clean energy hubs. With a strong financial backing totaling USD 750 million (investors include Sandbrook Capital, PSP Investments and IMCO), NeXtWind is poised to be a key partner in advancing Germany's energy transition. Article content Article content Article content Article content Press contact Article content Article content FGS Global Article content Article content Niels Schlesier | +49 162 26 27 473 Article content Article content Article content Article content
CBS News
29-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis slams proposed cuts to renewable energy, "This is a new low"
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis took to X Saturday night to vent frustration at proposed cuts to renewable energy in President Trump's "one big, beautiful bill." An updated draft of the spending bill would impose a new tax on some wind and solar projects to begin after 2027. Initially, the bill stipulated that any project that began construction this year would receive the full tax credits included in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, and projects beginning construction next year would receive 20%. Projects after that would not receive the tax credits. CBS However, under the new draft, those credits would only apply to projects that begin producing electricity before the end of 2027. Polis attacked the cuts in a post Saturday night, stating "Congressional Republicans just added a new job killer, tax, and cost increase into the big, cruel bill targeting our thriving wind and solar power. The Republican bill now attacks solar and wind investments, which is bad for Colorado on so many levels, but this is a new low." The megabill would implement numerous changes, including restrictions on Medicaid and food stamps, an increase to the cap on the state and local tax deductions, ordering the sale of public lands, including in Colorado, and raising the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. The Senate advanced the bill Saturday in a narrow 51-49 vote, largely along party lines. Only Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky broke ranks to vote against the bill. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York called for a full reading of the text, which could delay the vote on final passage for hours.
BBC News
17-05-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Moorland weather test mast plan for Scout Moor II deferred
The decision on a bid to put up a temporary weather-monitoring mast and equipment on moorland has been Peter Rowe, of Cubico UK Development (Wind 1) Limited, based at Media City, Salford, is seeking permission for a temporary meteorological mast on land on Scout Moor, west of Rooley Moor Road, near mast would measure wind over two years ahead of a potential plan for new wind turbines, called Scout Moor planning officers had previously recommended the scheme be approved with conditions. Not green belt Rossendale Council's development committee considered the mast application this week and one objector and one supporter shared their included concerns about potential damage to peat moors, wildlife and historical roads, and the visual impact on the land which is open countryside, but not common land or green council said remedial works would be done to the land once the mast was taken recent days, a separate plan has been sent to Rossendale Council for proposed signs to warn people of construction work, if the mast gets the go-ahead. The signs consultation is expected at the end of May and councillors decided to defer the mast decision until then, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
