Thousands form human wind turbine in Hamm to protest Germany's new gas power plant plans

A creative protest against fossil fuels

Thousands of people demonstrated in the Westphalian cities of Hamm and Werne on Saturday against the federal government's energy policy and the construction of new gas-fired power plants in the region. The protests were organized by a coalition of environmental groups including Greenpeace, Campact, Fridays for Future, and BUND. The central demand was an immediate course correction in energy policy, "away from fossil gas and towards a consistent, socially just energy transition," as Greenpeace stated.

Thousands of people came together today in Hamm to jointly set a strong, creative and peaceful signal for a just energy transition.

The human wind turbine

At the conclusion of the demonstration, around 2,000 participants formed a moving wind turbine with their bodies on a former mining heap near the Gersteinwerk gas power plant. Organizers claimed this constituted a world record. The action was designed as a powerful visual symbol for an energy transition without natural gas. From above, the formation was clearly recognizable as a wind turbine.

Disputed crowd numbers

Estimates of the total number of participants varied significantly. Organizers reported 5,000 attendees across the rallies, while police put the figure at approximately 2,700. A police spokesperson described the protests as "predominantly peaceful." Authorities had drawn forces from across North Rhine-Westphalia in advance of the large demonstration.

The protests were predominantly peaceful.

Route restrictions and legal challenges

Before the main demonstration, the police changed the route. The originally planned opening rally in front of the Gersteinwerk in Werne-Stockum was prohibited, and the demonstration instead started more than a kilometer away from the power plant. Emergency appeals filed by the action alliance failed both before the Gelsenkirchen Administrative Court and the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia in Münster.

Broader wave of actions

The Saturday protest was part of a multi-day mobilization. A "climate camp" has been set up in Hamm's Lippepark for several days and is scheduled to remain until Tuesday. On Friday, protest actions took place at multiple locations in the Ruhr region, involving the Ende Gelände alliance. Around 200 activists entered the grounds of the Scholven power plant in Gelsenkirchen, and others occupied railway tracks. Police initiated 258 criminal proceedings in Gelsenkirchen alone, including for trespassing and property damage. Ende Gelände reported on Saturday morning that some protesters were being detained by police and accused authorities of acting repressively against peaceful protest.

The policy at stake

The protests target plans by Economy Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) to build new gas-fired power plants. These hydrogen-ready facilities are intended to initially run on natural gas and are designed to secure electricity supply during dark doldrums after the coal phase-out. The organizing alliance argues that Reiche is setting "wrong energy policy priorities," claiming that instead of decisively advancing the expansion of renewable energies, central progress of the energy transition is being slowed and billions are being invested in climate-damaging fossil infrastructure.

We want a future instead of gas — and we are standing up with united forces against the federal government's climate policy rollback.