Continuing with my "Bau Steine Erden" industry series from July ...
This rather longish technical monstrosity is called "Förderbrücke F60" and was used in the lignite open-cast mines in Germany's eastern brown coal district near Cottbus close to the Polish border. After reunification in 1990, mining here with the production of briquettes for heating wasn't economical anymore and was discontinued. The huge pit underwent a revitalisation programme which is still ongoing. The bridge was too large to be dismantled - 502 m long - and was turned into a tourist attraction. Visitors interested in this part of history can climb up with a guide and hear about power generation from this "dirty" old-fashioned fossil fuel energy before the transition to renewable energies became reality.
The lake will be a central part of the renaturalised pit.
There are still areas in Germany where brown-coal open pit mining continues: one is here in the Lausitz region. When we asked the guide, whether a working mine could be visited, she directed us to the town of Welzow...
.... where LEAG (Lausitzer Energie Kraftwerke AG) still operate a huge mine that can be visited from a viewpoint on the rim of the excavation area.
Kraftwerkskomplex "Schwarze Pumpe"
Reflections of a blue sky in the water puddles on the energy-laden, but barren and toxic soil.
Lignite is mostly used for electricity generation. Despite the anticipated transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, nearly a quarter of electricity produced in Germany today still comes from lignite power stations.
Sydney police have nice cars... the hybrid BMW i8 !
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