Germany was shaken this week by attacks on electrical substations across the country, which appeared to aim at cutting off power supply from coal-fired power plants and causing widespread power outages.
Officials said on Friday that these attacks were most likely a case of “climate extremism.”
This was reported after a 48-year-old man, identified by the German media as Daniel V., sent letters claiming responsibility for these actions, and suspected explosives were found during a search of the activist’s apartment.
On Saturday, regional authorities reported that “following a citizen’s report, 12 homemade explosive devices were found on Friday near high-voltage lines close to the Bervalde (near Bauzen) and Graustein (near Görlitz) electrical substations.”
Special police units neutralized these devices, and the operation involved temporarily shutting down surrounding power lines, police said.
Officials indicated they are investigating a “possible connection” to other incidents at electrical substations.
The newspaper Bild reported on Friday that an armed elite police team stormed a truck in the Hambach forest in North Rhine-Westphalia, suspected to belong to the mentioned activist, but failed to detain him.
This area is very symbolic for Germany’s climate movement. Activists have protested for many years against plans to cut down large forest areas to expand the nearby open Hambach lignite mine.
Germany has recently faced a series of attacks on the power grid. In some cases, responsibility was claimed by far-left activists.
The most serious attack occurred in January in Berlin – it left tens of thousands of households and thousands of businesses without power for almost a week in the middle of winter.
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