Bringing culture to the landscape
The wind industry is often criticised over placing turbines in the "cultural landscape".
"So we had the idea of actually bringing culture to the landscape," said Friedbert Agethen, managing director of German renewable-energy firm WestfalenWind.
The company organised three music concerts in June that were performed in the ground floor area of a 3MW Enercon E-115 turbine tower near Bad Wunnenberg, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.
With a diameter of 14 metres, the tower base offered sufficient room for a small stage and seating for up to 80 people to enjoy performances by the Acoustic Guitar Night trio and cabaret artist Ingo Borchers.
The turbine was switched off during the performance as a safety precaution, the company said. But the tower was internally illuminated to a height of around 70 metres, and videos filmed by drones of the turbines operating in oil seed rape fields were projected on to the internal concrete walls.
Further concerts are not planned at the moment, but a repeat of the idea has not been ruled out, a company spokesman said.
Trump hits out in Iowa
The US president took another swipe at "windmills" at a recent rally. "I don't want to just hope the wind blows to light up your homes," he said. "As the birds fall to the ground." He then talked about "clean, beautiful coal".
But Iowa was a curious choice of location for this message. It has over 7GW of wind capacity providing over 36% of the state's electricity, and the industry employs 8,000 people, which is 8,000 more than work in coal mines.
Iowa's senior senator, Republican Chuck Grassley (right), had this to say to Trump's call to end wind power's production tax credit last year: "If he wants to do away with it, he'll have to get a bill through Congress, and he'll do it over my dead body."
UK Energy figures and facts
2% Coal's share of UK electricity generation during the first half of 2017. Five years ago, it was more than 40% (Imperial College, London)
6.64TWh Output from Scotland's 6.8GW of onshore wind capacity H1 2017. It equates to 57% of the country's (population 5.4 million) entire electricity needs (WWF Scotland)
£20bn Latest estimate for the capital costs of EDF's Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, up from £18 billion. The completion date has also been moved back two years to 2027 (EDF)
8.3% The proportion of UK new car sales that will be fully electric-powered by 2030. It currently stands at 0.5% (Bloomberg New Energy Finance)
Qote of the month
"If you want to control the cost of energy and deliver energy at the most competitive price, why would you not want to use (onshore wind)? This report demonstrates it is at the leading edge of efficiency"
Keith Anderson, chief operating officer, ScottishPower, at the launch of Arup report, which calls for UK onshore wind to have CfD access
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