Germany wants to increase the percentage of renewable energies it uses to create electricity. Wind energy is one of the options it is using. Although many Germans think wind energy makes sense, most don't want a turbine near them. Some of the complaints are that the turbines are noisy, ugly or cast shadows.

Wind turbines off the coasts of the North and Baltic seas offer an alternative. In 2010, the Alpha Ventus pilot project opened north of the popular holiday island of Borkum. It was truly a world first at the time as no wind farm had ever been built so far out and so deep in the sea – 45 kilometers off the coast, with a foundation 30 meters deep. From the surface of the water to the uppermost tip of the rotor blade, a wind turbine is over 150 meters high –higher than the world-famous Cologne Cathedral. A rotor blade itself is 58 meters long, with a maximum speed of 320 km/h! In 2014, an energy yield of over one terawatt hour was achieved for the first time, which means climate-friendly electricity for 285,000 households – and that's for a whole year! As the wind turbines must be separated by 800 meters, the plant takes up the space of 500 soccer fields. During storms, waves of up to 10 meters can pummel the turbines! Good thing Harry doesn't have to do his climbing there!