August 22, 2009 - Bruges, Renewable Energy Adventure

The day started out at the masterful Royal Palace of Brussels. I am assuming that, to the naked eye, it probably looks like many of the other palaces across Europe. From the palace we drove to Bruges. Once we arrived, we dropped off our luggage at the Ibis Bruge Centrum and then walked to the city center where we were given a few hours to walk around. Kelly and I found a nearby art museum that was among the most ridiculous places I have ever been. It was called the Musuem of Museums. It housed a series of worthless, probably made up trophies. In a fit of disappointment, obnoxiousness and probably some American hubris, I lifted one of the trophies off the shelf and held it up as if I had been victorious. Don’t worry, nothing happened. After the museum we indulged in some incredible Belgium chocolate – SO GOOD! After the chocolate stop we climbed the bell-tower in the city center that gave us an overview of the whole Bruges and Belgium countryside landscape. One unexpected site that Kelly spotted was a series of wind turbines along the northern canals and knowing my fetish with alternative energy she pointed them out – more to come of this later. From center city we went over to a boat tour of Bruges, where all 32 Muhlenberg students, teacher and wife squeezed into a little boat. It was beautiful to see the whole city, especially from the water. I was fortunate enough to sit in the very front, so I took advantage of my proximity to the tour guide / boat driver person by asking him a slew of questions ranging from politics to economics, Bruges to the EU, and of course about the wind turbines that I had seen with Kelly earlier. From the boat tour we were treated at the Halve Maen Brewery with a tour of the facility and a free drink afterwards. By then it was after six in the evening and we were given the rest of the night free.

After about 5 minutes of deliberation I scurried back to the hotel to embark on an unforgettable journey. From the moment I had seen the wind turbines lined up I was set on traveling out to see them, to learn about them and experience them up close in person. While in Maastricht and while traveling I had seen turbines scattered around farm pastures, but never near cities. Although a turbine is a turbine wherever you are, for some reason I viewed this opportunity as one that I shouldn’t pass up, regardless of the financial cost. As I got back to the hotel, I lined up a cab. When the cabby, Patrick, came in I asked him to take me to the turbines. I had a spot circled on my city map and that was all, no address or street, just a random location. I asked Patrick if anyone had ever requested such a trip and he said no. I apologized if he thought I was crazy. Before getting into the cab Patrick and I settled on a fixed price and then we were off. As Patrick navigated the cab, slowing and even stopping at different points for me to take pictures, he and I discussed many aspects of renewable energy in the EU, Belgium and Bruges. I asked about his personal sentiment towards renewable energy, what the people’s impressions were, if they were common in his area and many other questions. As we got closer to the turbines, Patrick darted in and out of empty lots, private roads and other nearby streets just to get as close to a turbine as possible. At a few points he got out of the cab to take a few pictures of me. Our last stop was along the train tracks. When we were slowly driving back to the hotel we eyed a small side street arched by brush. We drove through it and find that it led to a street the lines the train tracks. Patrick took a right to a dead end, where just above the ridge was an open parking lot, warehouse and in the middle was a turbine. After documenting myself and the sites from the ridge I made a dash for the turbine. I scampered nervously across the parking lot to the base of the turbine. Feeling like a child in a toy store, eyeballing his favorite toy, and reaching out to touch it, I thoroughly enjoyed not only the rush of being in a place where I clearly wasn’t allowed, but also the excitement of truly experiencing what I am been studying and am passionate about. From there, Patrick and I turned back. I thoroughly thanked him and offered him a nice tip for his assistance, photography skills, and of course driving expertise. I think he also enjoyed the adventure as well. The following is what I learned from Patrick and few other sources about the EU, Belgium and Bruges’s renewable energy policy, with specifics for wind energy:

The wind turbines that I visited can be accessed from Pathoekewg street. They are approximately 10 km from the train station just south of center city. The turbines are about 5-6 years old and serve about 260,000 families. Currently, most of Belgium’s power is generated from nuclear power, however, people view nuclear as too expensive and still very dangerous. Conversely, many people also have the impression that “the greener you go, the more expensive you get.” They feel this was because the initial implementation of a green energy technology costs a lot. Belgium’s wind energy projects are government supported. Patrick noted that he expects the price of energy to go up in the short run to cover the government’s costs to build additional turbines; he feels though that in the long run energy costs will be better. Patrick hopes that the government builds more turbines, and he believes that other Belgians feel the same way. Belgium wind turbines are rarely found bunched together in a field, like they are organized in the USA, rather they are often lined up along a body of water, like a canal or a coast. Currently, there is an ongoing project to build a line of turbines 10 miles off of the Belgian coast in the North Sea. The locals actually organize helicopter or boat tours out to the turbines. Patrick feels as though “green is less pollution” and he believes that people want more green technologies implemented because they think it is better. Belgium is going green for Belgium, however, and not for the EU’s 20-20-20 by 2020 mandate (EU Parliament Lecture explained that the EU mandate is by 2020 for all of its member states to increase renewable energy production by 20%, decrease carbon emissions by 20% and increase bio-fuel use by 20%). Patrick said that Belgium goes green because it wants to. More specifically, he said that no one in Bruges really cares about the EU stuff. The EU really just helps with travel and trade (no borders and uniform currency). In addition to the wind production, Belgium’s solar market is really picking up thanks to the government’s almost 70% subsidy (boat tour guide explained to me). Overall, it appears as though Belgium is trying to capitalize on their relatively decent sun exposure and excellent wind capabilities. It will be interesting to see how much they can exploit the North Sea’s extremely powerful winds, which I believe will be the key to Belgium’s energy independence and fortitude.