Below is a set of photos and a commentary on the history of coal production
in Germany over the last century. Germany is rich in coal, especially brown coal,
or lignite. But what Germans are doing to their own country to mine this coal baffles
me a little bit. Here is what Ulla and I saw in the mines
at Bochum and in the open air mine, Tagebau Garzweiler, west of Düsseldorf.
All of the links on this page will open in a new window
This is a shot from the communications tower, Rhein Turm, in Düsseldorf, looking
west toward the largest brown coal surface mine in the world.
Notice the two power plants in the distance, one on either side, and the mound of earth inbetween them
There are actually three power plants in that area. Even though
they are several miles away, this is what you can see, when they are operating, from Ulla's balcony in Düsseldorf
I shot these photos during two different trips in 2002.
Ulla and I had driven past this mine several times over the last few years. We finally got a little curious and
decided to check it out. We had seen the immense mining machines from the A46 autobahn and wanted to see them up close. The mine is
Tagebau Garzweiler.
'Tagebau' means 'above ground mine' in English. Here is a
link to
a site that's all about the mine and the surrounding area, and it's in English
But, before we went there, we
went to Deutsch Bergbau Museum in Bochum, just north of Düsseldorf.
'Bergbau' means 'mining' in English. There we found not only a geological
history of Germany, but what the mining industry means to the country. A link to their fantastic
website is here.
The site is in German, but, the presentation is great and you'll
get a really good idea of what we saw. We climbed that thing...I wouldn't go to the top
The Deutsch Bergbau Museum in Bochum is a combination of an actual black coal
mine, the towering structure used to pull all the coal out, and a modern building that surrounds
the entrance to the shafts that is full of German geological and mining history.
This is a photo of miner's garb, mostly footwear and lamps, suspened from the ceiling over
the entrance to the museum
We had never been in a mine before, so, as is usual, we decided
to have a look. This is the oldest part of the mine - the entrance to all the other shafts. Note the clock: Underground
there is no other time reference
This is no longer a functioning mine, but, one starts to get
an idea of what conditions were like when it was functioning
All of this support structure, lighting, and the
hoses running across the ceiling for air and water are fairly modern additions. When this was
dug, it was dark, cold and inhospitable. Not to mention unpainted
Modern technology had since been installed to prop the shafts up and move the coal out
This complicated series of machines existed soley to keep the shaft from collapsing
as the drilling machines chewed into the coal on the side of the shaft
Right next to it is the conveyor belt that replaced people and mules for extracting the mined
ore to the surface
This machine controlled the entire ore extraction process.
How fast the conveyor belts moved, where the next train car was for pick-up, and probably who
was supposed to take lunch next. In this shot, I have just successfully asked it where the heck
we were. Its response was not very encouraging... "300 feet underground and on your own."
Photo by Ulla Hillebrand
Ulla and I did actually get seperated in the mine. That was a little scary. I tend to
wander off after photos and she tends to wander off after what interests her when we do these tour things.
We did manage to find each other after a bit while still underground, then proceeded back to the surface, then above it
This tower is actually a machine. In the days before closed engines
were available, this used gravity to power the ore extraction from the mine in a very clever way. I don't know
what this engine is called, but, I do know that the bigger and higher it was, the more power it had. We skipped the stairs and took
the elevator to the platform below the top
Bochum on a cloudy day from almost the top of that machine. That was high enough
for me...we went back down and into the museum next
The next few photos are pictures of models the largest machines on the planet
These machines are designed to take acres of land at a time and spit them out their backsides
while digging an open-space mine, or, Tagebau
They are used in a different kind of mining where all the topsoil is systematically removed
down to where the coal is. These machines are truly gargantuan. We'll see the real machines next at Tagebau Garzweiler
Tagebau Garzweiler is in the middle
of farmland, about a mile past that treeline. This is on the west side of the Rhine,
just south of the A46 autobahn. Click here for
a map of the area and a history of the present and future mine site
These photos were shot on a Sunday afternoon. I took several pictures of the
plumes from the electric plants as we got closer
One of the biggest byproducts from burning brown coal is CO2,
carbondioxide
Can't see it, can't smell it, but, it's there
Germany certainly has the technology for cheaper
and cleaner forms of energy. There is that mound that we saw from Rhein Turm earlier
As of 2002, with all the other things
on its plate, like reunification and the transportation network that goes with that, Germany
gets its energy where it can
And its most reliable source, like any country's, is on, or under, its own soil. But,
when I added
it all up, well, mining and burning lignite didn't make much sense to me. When I considered the factors; the
outright destruction of the countryside, lignite's relatively low energy output, and the pollution that's created by these electric plants,
I had to wonder why the German government condoned this. I looked further
"Germany has relatively insignificant domestic energy sources and is heavily import-reliant to meet its energy needs.
Coal accounted for 47% of domestic energy production in 1999, nuclear power 30%, natural gas 14%, renewable sources (including hydro) 6%, and oil 2%.
However, oil accounted for 41% of consumption."
Source: Energy Information Administration, USA. That link is here.
Suprisingly, even though coal is Germany's largest domestic energy resource,
Germany is actually a net coal importer. Germany is Europe's largest energy consumer. It also ranks 4th in the world in
installed nuclear power capability behind the U.S., France and Japan. Nuclear power comprises 21% of Germany's energy needs.
We went to have a look at Tagebau Garzweiler, and at the largest land machines in the world
These are the real machines. The models from the museum in Bochum, above, don't quite do
justice to their huge scale
It is difficult to describe how immense these machines are. One of the buckets on the wheel in front
can easily scoop a metric ton or two of earth, and there are several buckets on that wheel
I took these shots from the very edge of the farmland that had been recently excavated.
The drop from there down to the level where the machine is sitting is anywhere from about 60 to 100 feet
What you cannot see in this photo is the conveyor belt on the back end of this behemoth
that is transferring all the earth this machine excavates onto another conveyor belt for disposal
These machines take about 5 years to build, and are built on site. They work
there, then they are disassembled when the ore runs out. They move under their own power, fueled by diesel oil that is supplied
constantly by the lines running under the conveyor in the background. Tagebau Garzweiler is a relatively young mine. This is still
the beginning of Phase I. When Phase II commences in 2006, about 6 kilometers of autobahns A44 and A61, and a section of
Deutsch Bahn railway track will have to be dredged and
moved. Many towns will also be destroyed. Click here for a
close-up of the map
The fields bordering this mine were planted, growing, and awaiting harvest,
yet, at the same time, the progress on the mine continues to consume them. I can only guess that the farmers in the area are
trying to get what they can out of the land before the land winds up on a conveyor belt
This kind of mining has consumed many villages in the area. The excavation has also wreaked
havock with the local water table. Water has to be pumped into the surrounding villages from other sources. The mine acts
like a huge drain and itself has to be constantly drained
This shot...
...and this one show just how huge this mine is. The coal is actually being mined from
the area in the center of this photo. The machines around the edge of the mine, like the one above, are being used to remove
topsoil, 10's of meters at a time. All the brown dirt you see here is next to be removed
I find it a bit of a dichotomy that a country that cares so much
about its landscape and natural resources would continue to pursue this sort of mining. This one mine has forced
the destruction of several villages, and the relocation of their populations and histories. There are several other mines like this
one in Germany, particularly in the coal-rich areas in Nordrhein-Westphalia in northwestern Germany. But Tagebau Garzweiler is the biggest
So, I don't get it.
It seems to me that Germany has the resources to deal with its energy needs. Oil and gas must be imported, for the most part, sure.
But I think that Germany has the means to generate its own electricity needs without having to gouge and scar the landscape and
uproute and destroy centuries of rich cultural history. Germany has fast moving rivers
that could potentially be excellent sources of power. Submerged turbines under the Rhine, for example...just an idea.
Unfortunately, mines like Tagebau Garzweiler are largely political entities. From what I have learned, most of the
87 million people that live in Germany don't support an energy resource that destroys so much land in a country that
is only the size of the state of Montana in the U.S.
The people who live near this mine may be thinking the same thing that I am...
