Why health scares about wind turbines stick — and what actually counters them
Experts told a Warsaw debate that wind-turbine health scares work by sowing doubt, and that trusted local voices — not technical papers — are what counter them.
Experts told a Warsaw debate that wind-turbine health scares work by sowing doubt, and that trusted local voices — not technical papers — are what counter them.
Iberdrola's Agnieszka Pakula told a Warsaw debate that residents only engage with the facts on wind farms once they hear about concrete local benefits.
Grajewo mayor Grzegorz Gorski told a Warsaw debate that 19 turbines bring his municipality PLN 3.2m a year, and that visible local benefits beat fake news.
More than 400 additional steel structures for the Baltica 2 offshore wind farm are on their way to the installation port at Rønne, with over 75% supplied by Polish manufacturers.
Figures presented in Warsaw show nearly 70,000 disinformation publications on energy since 2022 and a PSEW study in which one in four wind firms reported physical violence.
GE Vernova has launched GridOS for Transmission, a unified platform for operating transmission networks, alongside two whitepapers on AI in grid planning and grid-edge operations.
Gasgrid Finland, Nordion Energi, OX2 and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners will study an offshore hydrogen pipeline linking Finland, Sweden and Germany by 2030 to turn Baltic offshore wind into a hydrogen market.
The Council of the Baltic Sea States has opened applications for its 2026 Summer University in Denmark on minorities and societal resilience across the region; the deadline is 1 July.
A University of Hamburg study of 176 climate models finds the latest generation now matches observations so closely that data quality, not the models, is the main limitation.
Baltic environmental NGOs urge the EU to set 2027 fishing limits below ICES advice, warning that cod, herring and salmon stocks are failing to recover even under existing closures.
Heavy-transport specialist Roll Group will use Spinergie's vessel-tracking Supply Chain module to map offshore wind logistics and spot new opportunities as the sector scales.
MLK Gruppe and the eegon cooperative have opened the repowered Scheid wind farm; the first two of four Nordex N163 turbines lift capacity from 4 to 14 MW, with 27.2 MW once complete.
BWE president Bärbel Heidebroek says strong permitting numbers mask a looming bottleneck: auction volumes and a flawed CfD design could stall Germany's wind boom.
Speaking in Brussels, NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska linked secure, resilient energy supplies directly to the Alliance's deterrence and defence.
The EU's latest package lists 34 individuals and 47 entities, targeting Russia's shadow fleet, energy revenues, defence industry and propaganda networks.
The Commission would let member states borrow up to 0.3% of GDP a year for the energy transition; Germany's BEE says it could free up to €27 billion.
Twenty NATO ships and around 6,000 personnel from 15 nations have begun the annual BALTOPS exercise, commanded for the first time from JFC Brunssum.
Officials and analysts told a Warsaw press conference that disinformation against wind power is a funded Russian operation, with a record 2026 propaganda budget and energy named as a deliberate target.
Experts at PSEW 2026 said onshore wind is among Poland's cheapest power sources and could cut energy bills, but warned that grid limits, permitting and public opposition still hold it back.
An Ørsted survey presented at PSEW 2026 found strong Polish support for renewables but widespread misperceptions about the cost and efficiency of offshore wind.
On Global Wind Day, WindEurope urged EU policymakers to protect flexible community participation models, warning that draft EU rules could weaken the local benefits wind farms deliver.
A Warsaw press conference brought together ministers, analysts, scientists, an investor and a mayor to confront wind-energy myths and the funded disinformation behind them.
Opening a Warsaw conference, Minister Urszula Zielinska called wind-energy disinformation 'a slow drip of poison' and a deliberate, funded operation that is a matter of state security.
On Global Wind Day, WindEurope spotlights how communities share in wind farm revenues — and warns that draft EU participation rules could undermine the very models that build local support.
PGE Baltica has signed a contract with a consortium led by PROJMORS ASE Group to design the onshore grid connection for the roughly 1.3 GW Baltica 9+ offshore wind project, with power routed to the Krzemienica substation.
ORLEN Neptun and the Szczecin-Świnoujście ports authority have signed a letter of intent to study expanding the Świnoujście Offshore Terminal, Poland's first offshore wind installation terminal, one year after it opened.
Metsähallitus has used GPS tracking of the globally threatened Baltic gull to map feeding areas and flight paths around its planned Ebba offshore wind farm in Finland.
DNV has certified the third BSH milestone for RWE's 660 MW Nordseecluster A, clearing the German North Sea project for turbine installation.
EU finance ministers agreed to extend the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism to downstream steel and aluminium products, roughly doubling the Commission's proposed scope.
At E-PINE talks in Tallinn and Narva, Baltic, Nordic and US officials reaffirmed transatlantic security cooperation, flagging hybrid threats and Russia's shadow fleet.
Norway has become a full member of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, gaining a formal role in the macro-regional framework's leadership and agenda-setting.
Baltic Sea foreign ministers adopted the Sopot Declaration, pledging tougher coordinated action to protect undersea cables and pipelines and to curb Russia's shadow fleet.
Energy security is now a necessity, not an option, for Polish firms, mBank's Michał Popiołek told EKF 2026, urging companies to invest in their own renewables.
At EKF 2026 in Sopot, PSE chief Grzegorz Onichimowski called Poland's low electrification rate a 'civilisational distance' and a question of security and resilience.
Estonia cut greenhouse-gas emissions 66.5% versus 1990, led by a power-sector shift from fossil fuels to renewables that also helped lower electricity prices.
Sweden has ordered grid operator Svenska kraftnät to pause an upgrade of its power cable to Denmark, escalating its standoff with Brussels over the EU Grids Package.
Lithuania will add EUR 4m for solar-plus-storage at Ukrainian public buildings and open a new LNG supply stage to Ukraine via Klaipėda, Energy Minister Vaičiūnas said.
Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland agreed in Vilnius to accelerate joint protection of energy infrastructure against hybrid threats, prioritising counter-drone systems.
Lithuania's Klaipėda LNG terminal has booked over 20 TWh of long-term capacity to 2044, with Ukraine's Naftogaz and Finland's Gasum joining as first-time customers.
Finland's Vetyalfa will receive a record EUR 224m from the EU Innovation Fund for its Cloudberry green hydrogen project, having bid the lowest price for the largest volume.
ORLEN Neptun and the Szczecin–Świnoujście ports authority have signed a letter of intent to expand Poland's first offshore wind installation terminal after a strong first year.
With Baltic hybrid threats rising, Poland is moving to formally classify offshore wind farms as critical infrastructure, the PSEW says ahead of its 2026 conference.
At PSEW 2026 in Świnoujście, PKEE Brussels' Ryszard Pawlik argued the energy transition 'triangle' has become a pentagon, adding affordable prices and resilience, and called for smart electrification and diversification.
Nordex has secured around 255 MW of new German orders across 14 projects and 39 turbines, including the 35 MW Rheine-Catenhorn citizen wind farm built with BBWind.
German developer MLK Gruppe is widening citizen financial participation in its wind farms via subordinated loans, with two Rhineland projects now open to investors.
A joint Alterric and E-Bridge study finds Germany's market for reactive power remains fragmented and underused, leaving potential savings on network charges unrealised.
Poland's largest wind conference, PSEW 2026, ran 8-10 June in Świnoujście, spotlighting West Pomerania — the country's wind leader at 2.6 GW and around 130% renewables self-sufficient.
BXF Energia's Tomasz Grzęda says the main bottleneck for onshore wind in Poland is the early permitting phase, where siting and approvals can take years.
Poland's defence ministry has prepared a decision to make onshore wind siting near military areas more transparent and predictable, announced by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz at PSEW 2026.
ORLEN Neptun and the Szczecin-Świnoujście ports signed a letter of intent to expand the Świnoujście Offshore Terminal, a year after Poland's first offshore installation hub opened.
Chint Solar Europe has sold a 56 MW / 180 MWh battery portfolio in eastern Germany to Second Foundation in one of the country's first forward-COD storage deals, advised by Capcora.
Germany's ZEREZ register now accepts certificates with grid-forming properties for the instantaneous reserve market, effective 1 June 2026.
Nordex has secured a 100 MW order in Eastern Europe for 17 N163/5.X turbines plus a multi-year service deal, with commissioning due in 2028.
German developer UKA has appointed Daniele Ascioti, formerly of Vestas, to lead its Italian solar and storage project companies from 11 June 2026.
Nordex has booked 155 MW of new orders in Southern Europe and Turkey for 34 Delta and Delta4000 turbines, with commissioning between spring 2027 and early 2028.
VSB Group, founded in Dresden in 1996 and part of TotalEnergies since 2025, marks 30 years with 592 MW operating and 447 MW under construction in Germany, Poland and France.
Alterric has brought a 2 MW battery online at its Oslebshausen wind farm near Bremen, its first storage unit, with six more totalling over 100 MWh in the pipeline.
NATO's largest Baltic Sea exercise began on 4 June with 20 ships sailing from Gdynia — the first BALTOPS run under a NATO command structure since 1972.
Polish fabricator Open Sea is building a 2,250 sqm production hall in Swinoujscie under a EUR 12m, EU-co-funded project, expanding its capacity for marine and offshore structures.
ENOVA Power GmbH has commissioned nine Vestas V172 turbines at Windpark Meppen, delivering 65 MW of onshore wind capacity — the largest repowering project in the company's 20-year history at the site.
Germany's Bundesnetzagentur has shielded existing offshore wind projects from planned generator network charges, drawing praise from BWO — which also published a study finding such charges would be ineffective and ultimately costlier for the federal government.
Frontex has completed its 1,000th aerial surveillance mission of 2026, accumulating over 5,060 flight hours across operations in two continents as the agency expands coverage to 12 countries.
Exercise Open Spirit 2026 brought eight NATO nations to Latvian waters to neutralise World War-era ordnance from the Baltic seabed — a mission with direct implications for offshore wind installation safety.
NATO's Dynamic Mongoose 2026 anti-submarine warfare exercise concluded on 29 May in the Norwegian Sea, with forces from nine nations testing detection and response capabilities across air, surface and sub-surface domains.
ABB has secured a contract with Cochin Shipyard to supply power and propulsion systems for two battery-electric harbour tugs operating under India's Green Tug Transition Programme at the country's largest container port.
Skyborn Renewables has appointed Michael Klingele as COO, effective 1 July 2026, to lead global operations and project delivery across its offshore wind portfolio, including the flagship Gennaker project in the German Baltic Sea.
Green Power Sweden has endorsed Swedish government proposals to cap environmental permitting appeals at three instances, while urging coordination with other concurrent regulatory reforms at EU and national level.
Sweden's county administrations approved 130 large-scale battery parks totalling more than 5 GW between 2021 and 2025, Green Power Sweden reports, with the industry body calling for a national storage strategy and improved grid access rules.
A UK safety investigation has traced a fire aboard the offshore wind service vessel Kommandor Susan to non-genuine bearings installed during a 2019 overhaul, the MAIB reported in 2025.
A pre-election survey by Green Power Sweden finds a majority of Swedish parliamentary parties support reducing electricity tax from 36 öre/kWh to EU minimum levels, ahead of the September 2026 general election.
PIMEW has submitted a formal position on Bill UD 2549 calling for a PIT exemption for Polish seafarers on offshore wind vessels, citing a 41% tax rate against 0% in Denmark and Belgium.
FairWind has secured its first operations and maintenance contract with Statkraft, covering two ageing onshore wind farms near Tarifa, Spain, for 2.5 years.
ENERTRAG has announced a €1.1 billion investment plan in France targeting 1 GW of installed capacity by 2030, using hybrid energy hubs that combine wind farms with battery storage.
Berg Propulsion has formalised a service and support agreement with Stone Marine Services, strengthening its presence in the UK and Ireland as demand for electric marine drivetrains grows.
A new PISM White Paper documents Russia's intensifying hybrid campaign against Baltic Sea states, covering sabotage of energy and cable infrastructure, GNSS disruption, border violations, and recommendations for coordinated regional defence.
Kyon Energy has simultaneously broken ground on large-scale battery storage projects in North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony-Anhalt, and Schleswig-Holstein, signalling portfolio-scale deployment in Germany's energy storage sector.
Aderco has launched 2055G+, a programme combining its marine fuel additive with verified emissions monitoring and Gold Standard carbon credit issuance for ship operators facing IMO CII and EU ETS obligations.
WindEurope's Technology Workshop convenes in Rotterdam on 11-12 June 2026, drawing over 450 experts to explore data-driven improvements in wind farm performance and resource assessment.
Jumbo Maritime has ordered two new L-Class heavy lift vessels from China's Dajin Heavy Industry, each equipped with dual Huisman 1,200-tonne cranes, with deliveries scheduled for 2028 and 2029.
Ignitis Renewables hosted 150 participants from over 20 Lithuanian communities in Kaunas, sharing EUR 1.3 million in community grants and running energy education workshops for young people.
A FESOM-C model study explicitly simulating 692 North Sea monopiles at metre-scale finds wind farm arrays create basin-wide tidal disruptions, with turbine layout playing a key role in cumulative impact.
Smulders has completed the first load-out of suspended internal platform cages for Baltica 2 in Swinoujscie, supporting the 1.5 GW PGE-Orsted project off the Polish coast.
New UK legislation in force from 21 May 2026 gives offshore wind developers a wider range of environmental compensation options, from seabird colony protection to native oyster restoration.
Wind Energy Ireland's 18-point action plan for 2026 targets a September planning decision, finalised grid agreements for east-coast projects, and state investment in port capacity.
Nordex Group has secured a 110 MW onshore wind order from Eksim Enerji in Turkey, covering 16 N175/6.X turbines for the Balıkesir-3 wind park with a ten-year premium service contract.
PSEW's position paper draws on European data to show that offshore wind farms can operate alongside fishing fleets and coastal tourism without significant conflict.
Nordex Group has commenced rotor blade production at its new 130,000 m² facility in Menemen, Turkey, with capacity for up to 1,200 blades per year serving both Turkey's YEKA programme and European export markets.
ENP Neue Energien has started construction of a 36 MW wind park in Rhineland-Palatinate, featuring six Vestas V150 turbines and a dedicated 100 MVA substation, with operations expected by late 2027.
EC Executive VP Teresa Ribera visited Nordex’s Hamburg headquarters on 20 May, highlighting wind energy’s strategic role in Europe’s energy security and industrial competitiveness.
Tion Renewables has signed a long-term PPA to supply solar power to IONITY's German EV charging network from 2027, as renewable producers and charging operators deepen their collaboration.
Ignitis Group has announced a EUR 2.5–3.0 billion Strategic Plan for 2026–2029 centred on green flexibility technologies, grid expansion, and a value-over-volume investment approach.
ARP S.A. and the TFK Group have signed letters of intent with PGE Baltica and ORLEN Neptun to cooperate on submarine cable installation for Baltic offshore wind, using a Cable Laying Vessel that the Polish partners plan to build.
ARP S.A. and Grupa TFK have signed letters of intent with PGE Baltica and ORLEN Neptun to cooperate on Poland's first Cable Laying Vessel, targeting the growing Baltic Sea offshore wind cable installation market.
Elia Group shareholders approved a €2.05 per share dividend and governance amendments at the company's annual general meetings held on 19 May 2026.
All-Energy 2026 drew a record 13,300+ visitors to Glasgow in its 25th anniversary year, with the UK Minister for Energy pledging to go further and faster on clean energy deployment.
Nordex has received orders from German developer WNE for 12 N175/6.X turbines totalling 82 MW across three projects in Kreis Höxter, North Rhine-Westphalia, with installation starting mid-2027.
Berg Propulsion has appointed Philip Chaabane as CEO, with Stefan Sedersten moving to Executive Chairman and Jon Töyrä shifting from CFO to COO, effective 1 May 2026.
Leaders of the Bucharest Nine and Nordic Allies reaffirmed Baltic Sea maritime protection and commended Baltic Sentry operations in a joint declaration from Bucharest.
The US House Foreign Affairs Europe Subcommittee examined threats to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, with Chairman Self warning that NATO’s credibility hinges on credible deterrence along the Baltic frontier.
The Baltic Sea Region Forum in Turku attracted a record 580 participants to debate security, energy infrastructure, and geopolitical resilience across the Baltic and Arctic.