there could be 19, pandemic points against environmental defenders is increased in latin america. region of journalists is raising awareness for these attacks. but in journalism have an impact beyond creating visibility. join the discussion. there are people who believe you can do whatever you want to our planet and nature will just take its course. mother. nature is much money than us. still, our world is also a precarious place. be ecosystems we live in, can be extremely delicate, but that won't always convince someone to pursue, i call all buy stuff with less packaging or use renewable energy, or stop driving

a car or eating meat. heat flow, convincing the economics of going green. thanks for joining us here, mate, i'm been physical and you can get wind water and sun for free. so why have we been digging around for oil all this time? well, the tech was still too expensive, but it's not any more. and there are bigger and even bolder projects, like harnessing the force of the wind produced on the high seas. now, even though the wind is a lot stronger there than on land offshore, pocs aren't set to become the key to germany's energy transition. our reporter wanted to find out why, for someone afraid of heights he took this is simon to a whole new level when meeting the founder of one of europe's biggest wind farm operators. i'm eating close my, who founded the energy company w. p. d. one of europe's biggest wind farm operators, w p. d runs clean energy parks on land and on c. that produced a lot of power 1st. i have to prove i don't have for

a vehicle. the turbine is 80 meters tall. it's pretty windy up here. i have a question for him when it work, can germany carry out the green energy transition using only offshore wind farms? coal, and nuclear and edgy generate about half of germany's electricity. that's bad for the end vironment there in a given day or, and energy transition wants to change that much more electricity needs to be generated by solar and wind power. because my own knows that some germans oppose wind farms. w.p.b. also installs wind turbines offshore or that see beyond the horizon they can't destroy anyone's few. couldn't all our electricity be generated there? this is the world's biggest offshore wind farm. it's turbines make us humans look

like tiny ends and comparison. there are as big as the eiffel tower and can power $16000.00, households, germany consumes around $550.00, terawatt, ours of electricity each year. it won't take more than $10000.00 of these turbines to generate that much energy. so that could work. he explained what need more than a square kilometer in space on the north sea of a baltic. that what i mean twice as many turbines and german waters than currently allowed at what we'd better for germany to get some electricity from its neighbors . w.p.b. installs one turbines all over the world, but do they take a swimming and annual consumption? a 550 terawatt hours can all of that be generated off shore? if i install turbines across the entire north sea and baltic economic area,

i could just about manage it. but it's not realistic. there are technological and environmental reasons not to do it. fishing vassal of generally have to keep away from offshore wind turbines, because then that's can destroy the underwater cables. and there are large nature conservation areas with ral plants. and while i live in the north sea and the baltic, so space is limited. my initial contribution, none of the world's major coastal countries will be able to drive all of their electricity from offshore wind pox. let's take a look around the globe. even a large island such as great britain with its long coastline. what bally manage only small islands would be able to get all off. they are energy from offshore wind pox. so what's the solution? offshore wind parks, council apply enough electricity. germany meet all its energy needs, were 3 in your balls. you get the right solution is

a mix of renewable sources. gas will play a key role and hydro power a limited white. solar power has massive potential, and that can be part of the mix. but the driving force will be onshore and offshore wind energy. off germany already gets more than half of its electricity from renewable sources. it wants to hit almost 100 percent renewables by 2038. scientists have calculated what the energy mix will look like them. at 300 terawatts powers onshore wind parks. what to deliver more energy than offshore ones? but why is it that on shore wind farms like this will deliver the most actresses? the systems that are being built today are much more powerful. with the $30000.00 wind turbines, we already have in germany will be able to produce 3 times as much electricity. so

after wind parks won't be enough. what's needed is an energy mix. and that will change germany's landscape brain bigger and more modern on wind turbines. and even more offshore turbines generating power at sea funds from germany's renewable energy sources act have guaranteed high returns. and so to start up financing for a whole host of green energy providers, beginning in 2021, those subsidies will expire for plants that are more than 20 years old. that aleve many bio gas plants, solar and wind turbine operators are profitable, also throwing a spanner into the works. the coronavirus lockdowns have seen energy demand plunge . we went to meet some of the small electricity produces will lose out. this wind turbine has been in operation for 20 years now and can still produce renewable

electricity. but the operators have decided to close because the state guaranteed subsidies have run out. we have decided to take the plant off the grid on december 31st and we will dismantle all the turbines and scrap them and wind power in bio gas or a key part of germany switched to green energy. yet state subsidies for this bio gas plant are also running out after 20 years of the subsidies were too generous at 1st. and now suddenly the tap is being turned off and that's difficult. above all because people assume that the subsidy program would be continued at the moment. there are long faces all around it. then a diatom on used to be a farmer, but he switched to electricity production. instead, he feeds his bio gas plant with maize silent, and horse manure, and feeds the electricity generated into the national grid. the state has been

paying him a feed in tariff of up to $0.24 per kilowatt hour, irrespective of current electricity prices. i get 22 to $0.24 now and that will drop to $0.18. i have to save the difference somewhere. and at the moment i don't see any way to cut costs in the production process. in fact, the plant needs more investment to ensure it turns a profit in the future. and detriment is also missing out on an important source of income. he cannot sell the heat that's produced along with the power of his former farm is too far from developed areas for that. and his fields are too small to enable him to run the bio gas plant with homegrown maize. he has to buy it from neighboring farmers at considerable expense,

to continue operating by a gas plants with fewer state subsidies. operators will need to make significant investments. that's what yosef has done. he's able to sell his waste heat and can feed his bio gas into the gas grid. the munich local authority buys the bio methane from him. to make that happen, he spent some 2000000 euros upgrading his facility. that's beyond the reach of many energy producers. i don't want to drive my colleagues into bankruptcy, but you have to do your sums very carefully. and in some cases, the most sensible decision might involve shutting down the bio gas plant. that's what van i die tomorrow is likely to end up doing. he would have to invest over a half a 1000000 euros to upgrade his plant at just 15 years from

retirement. that's a financial risk. he's unlikely to take wind power operator. hawse tomatoes is also planning to shut up shop. the wind farm earned him and his partners a comfortable income over the last 20 years. but the good times are now over. he estimates that around 40 percent of wind turbines, in the northern german state of lower saxony are no longer cost effective. you can work it out for yourself. we produce 700000 kilowatt hours of electricity. we get $0.09. now that means we're paid a feed in tariff of between 50060000 euros. but if that drops to below $20000.00 euros a year, and it's not going to cover our costs that renewables seem to be on the retreat without state subsidies, some 40 percent of old bio gas plants are also no longer profitable. the

government's price guarantees helped green energy, find its feet in germany. now the industry is having to go it alone. the whole world could be on the cusp of a giant boom in solar energy though. and that's because of the huge drop in the price of the technology. international renewable energy agency says in the past decade, solar costs of fallen by 82 percent. we visited an energy provider that's installing, germany's biggest, so the park in the state of brandenburg these panels are pretty easy to install, but there are thousands of them still to go. in the countryside near berlin, germany's biggest solar park is taking shape to us and the project manager sector has been growing significantly in recent years. between 20102012, there was

a big expansion. and then 3 years ago there was another major increase in terms of rooftop systems. but also on the ground operations, big solar parks are really taking off. germany is aiming to phase out coal powered by 2030 days. and nuclear power will be switched off soon. 2. so will solar be able to meet the country's energy needs? and how will it change the landscape? half a 1000000 molecules built on metal frame. 100000, mining posts, 250 kilometers of cable, 150 fishers working on behalf of one of germany's biggest energy companies. we definitely have the potential to complete projects of this scale, but rather than size,

it's the viability of the project that counts. this solar park is the size of $225.00, soccer pitches. facilities in europe tend to be smaller because they compete with agriculture for the arab areas. of india, for example, some solar parts can provide enough electricity for half a 1000000 households. but solar parks alone aren't enough. here in germany, there are 19000000 apartment buildings and houses the loss of roof space. and an ideal place for solar panels. an entire industry has been built around installing those insults. what does or does nowadays the systems are very affordable and economical to run. since you basically don't have any maintenance costs, a lot of schools, the installations have become so affordable to install that they quickly pay for themselves. what is it about own the house with their roof tops solar system.

in many cases, the system actually produces more energy than a household needs. as one of the things that makes it financially worthwhile is that the costs of heating your house or heating your water are pretty low. the equipment pays for itself in just a few years. after that, the electricity produced is essentially free passes energy needs due exchange for he produces though. that is because his family have 2 electric cars that need to be recharged.

all germany's roofs were used to generate solar power. they cover the country's energy, is a company that builds solar parks across europe. systems are important, but they won't cover our energy needs on their own. you have to set priorities. 1st, you have to figure out which roofs are technically suitable. and then you have to figure out which ones of those are financially viable. solar energy is expected to see significant growth in germany. by the time the last coal fired power station is switched off and 2038, there would have to be 5 times as many rooftop solar systems on parks as.