Authorities in Oberwiera, Saxony have decided to dismantle a €10 million wind turbine after just two and a half years of operation because it generates excessive noise.
The turbine, located in the district of Görlitz, was found to violate noise protection regulations after numerous complaints from nearby residents, dpa reported.
Despite its high cost and the push for renewable energy expansion, local officials concluded that continued operation was not possible under current rules.
According to the German Wind Energy Association, the fact that a wind turbine has to be dismantled because of noise is a unique occurrence.
Being almost 170m high, it is the biggest wind turbine in Saxony, supplying periodic energy to around 5,000 households.
People living 1 km away from the installation, the minimum distance required by law in Saxony, could hear the humming sound of the turbine even with their windows closed.
“It sounds like when you get off an airplane and the turbine is still running,” Holger Quellmalz, the volunteer mayor of Oberwiera in the Zwickau district, told local media.
Another resident compared it with “an airplane circling overhead the whole time”.
The owner of the turbine also lives in the village.
The operator tried to dampen the noise, by switching of at night, installing vibration dampers, and change the gearbox, a costly endeavor, but to no avail.
According to the manufacturer, Vestas, it boils down to “a unique combination of site-specific framework conditions and plant-specific characteristics”.
A second wind turbine was planned to be built in the same village, but due to the problems with the first one, there is no longer a majority for this project.
The original turbine’s operator and local authorities are now facing the costly process of decommissioning.
It has not yet been decided who will pay for the demolition, which is set to begin in mid-July. The owner said that no taxpayer money will be used.
A new study by Swedish think-tank the Scandinavian Policy Institute (SPI) has warned that the promotion of wind power as being cost-effective and reliable was misleading at best. https://t.co/0WWBSKp2DN
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) May 28, 2025
