Imminent power shortage – Basel-based students are fighting for a wind turbine – News

Actually, the municipality of Muttenz buried the construction of a wind turbine a year ago. But young people don’t want to accept that and bring it back to the political arena.

It should be in the Hard, the Muttenz wind turbine. The community has been thinking about the idea for a long time, but was shipwrecked at a community meeting in the summer of 2021. 19-year-old Umut Gökbas does not look back fondly on this community meeting.

The young man was bitterly disappointed with the outcome: “The whole school class was incredibly frustrated that the wind turbine was so smashed.” The failed wind power project did not let go of Gökbas and his classmates.

The whole school class was incredibly frustrated that the pinwheel had been thrown off like that.

As president of the local student organization – which has almost a thousand members – Gökbas spontaneously launched a petition to bring the windmill back onto the political stage. With success: Within a short time, 188 signatures from schoolchildren were collected. The petition came about. The wind turbine is to be discussed again at the next community meeting in Muttenz in December. A great success for the 19-year-old. He looks forward to this meeting positively. “Meanwhile, it’s no longer just a question of ecology, it’s also about how we’ll get through the winter in the future.”

The subject of wind energy occupies the young Muttenzer so much that he even traveled to Entlebuch in Lucerne with his family to visit a wind power plant. That was impressive.

Critics complained at the community meeting in Muttenz that the wind turbines make too much noise. Gökbas can’t understand that: “I was standing next to the windmill and didn’t hear anything. You have to get really close to hear anything at all.”

Legend:

Together with his family, Umut Gökbas visited a wind farm in Entlebuch. And was amazed at how little was heard about it.

Keystone / Christian Beutler

Gökbas was not politically active before his commitment to wind energy in Muttenz. He also never took part in climate strikes. “If you had told me two years ago – that I would start a petition and that it would even get through to the community: I would have laughed out loud.” Now Gökbas wants to get involved in party politics and inspire young people. The young man is now a member of the GLP.

Muttenz is not an isolated case

Wind turbines have also been discussed in other Baselbie communities for decades. For example, Elektra Baselland wanted to build three turbines on the Schleifenberg near Liestal. The project was put on hold in 2018. But you don’t want to give it up in the current situation, says the head of the EBL, Tobias Andrist: “We are currently recalculating the return. The turbines have now become taller and more powerful.”

Industriewerke Basel IWB are also increasingly dealing with wind energy again. The plan to build four wind turbines on the Chall Pass in the Chain Jura is still up to date, says Reto Müller from the IWB: “We are in contact with the affected communities. As soon as they agree, we want to realize the project.” And things are happening at the federal level too. The approval process for new power plants is to be simplified in the future.