Context: In July 2026, the European Union was the largest buyer of Russian liquefied natural gas, accounting for nearly half of Russian LNG shipments, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). Despite statements about a total phase-out of Russian energy resources, Belgium and France remain the biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas. Meanwhile, Hungary and Slovakia continue to buy Russian oil.
On August 22, 2026, Alexey Zubets, the director of the Center for Social and Economic Research and a Russian economist, appeared on the program Around the Planet on the First News Channel. While discussing the European Union’s green transition, he linked Europe’s abnormal heat and drought to the development of wind energy.
“Southern Europe was scorching this year. They don’t say that the main cause of such extreme heat is green energy. That is, a very large number of wind power plants — several tens of thousands — have been built inNorthern European countries. There are about 60,000 powerful wind turbines located in Northern Europe and the North Sea. They are so-called offshore wind power plants. And they say that one of the scientists’ hypotheses is that wind power plants have altered the direction of air currents in Europe. As a result, cold, moist air from Northern Europe simply cannot break through these barriers of wind turbines. Thus, the disruption of air circulation has led to there simply being no rain.”
Thanks to its shallow waters and strong winds, the North Sea coastal region is indeed becoming a major center for wind energy. There are more than 100 wind farms in operation in that area. They currently have a capacity of 30 GW, which is expected to increase by about tenfold by 2050.
For at least a decade, scientists have been studying the effects of North Sea wind farms on the climate. The two most recent studies were published just before the First News Channel episode.
Wind turbines harness wind energy, which decreases the wind speed behind them. The blades’ rotation also mixes cold and warm air currents at different altitudes. Concentrating a large number of wind turbines in one place can indeed affect the region’s weather.
Studies show that wind farms can slightly increase precipitation intensity directly above them. On land in coastal areas, however, rainfall may become less intense. However, this does not apply to all of Europe. Rather, it applies to areas within approximately 60–100 km of wind turbines.
Scientists have modeled what the situation might look like by 2050 if wind farm capacity increases by about tenfold. According to their calculations, precipitation could decrease by about 5% along the coastline downwind, and by as much as 18% in some places. However, this forecast is for the future, when there will be a significantly greater number of wind farms.
At the same time, the researchers observed all noticeable changes when the wind blew from the southwest. This is not the direction in which air masses move into mainland Europe, toward France, Italy, or Spain. Those areas are reached by northern and northwesterly winds — the same moist air currents from the north that, according to Zubets, are obstructed by a “barrier of wind turbines.” However, studies showed no noticeable impact from wind farms for these wind directions. The scientists did not hypothesize that wind turbines prevent northern winds from reaching deeper into Europe, and their findings do not support this idea.
Furthermore, the researchers observed noticeable changes, primarily during the fall and winter. In the summer, the impact of wind farms was virtually nonexistent.
* The First News Channel is another name for News.by, a news outlet owned by Belteleradiocompany.
