Europe’s plan Stop buying Russian natural gas By installing wind turbines and solar panels on a large scale within five years. But grassroots environmental groups, local protests and a string of bureaucracy are coming in the way.
In Germany, Europe’s biggest buyer of Russian gas, wildlife conservation groups regularly challenge wind farms, extending their approval times to more than five years. In Italy, Europe’s second largest Russian gas consumer, authorities rejected 90% of all wind power projects. Permitting constraints have slowed the development of utility-scale solar farms across the continent. Regulations and public protests in Poland, France and Hungary have locked out large areas of the countries from wind-power development.