Goals for 2023 still missed
Great lull over? Wind power expansion is gaining momentum
January 16, 2024, 1:59 p.m
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For a long time, the expansion of onshore wind power in Germany made very slow progress. But things are now gaining momentum again. The traffic light government still missed its goals for 2023. The industry in this country is demanding even more speed – and is warning about the competition.
The construction of new wind turbines is picking up again after years of slack. Last year, 745 new systems with over 3.5 gigawatts of output were built on land, as the Federal Wind Energy Association (BWE) announced. However, the demolition of wind turbines with a good 0.5 gigawatts must also be taken into account. Nevertheless, this is more than the association recently predicted.
In addition, over 7.5 gigawatts of output were approved in 2023. The association therefore assumes that over 4 gigawatts could be installed in 2024, i.e. a slight increase. Nevertheless, despite the traffic light government removing numerous hurdles, onshore wind energy is still lagging behind its targets. The government target for 2023 was 6 gigawatts, which was clearly missed. The goal for 2024 is 8 gigawatts.
Germany is now on a better path than in the past. In the years from 2018 to 2022, the expansion of onshore wind power fell significantly after a peak in 2017. New systems in the range of just 1 to 2.5 gigawatts were installed every year.
More and more green electricity
By 2030, Germany wants to cover around 80 percent of its electricity needs from renewable energies. In 2023 it was 56 percent – mainly thanks to wind power – and in 2022 it was only 47.4 percent.
There are now almost 29,000 onshore wind turbines in Germany with an output of 61 gigawatts. For comparison: Solar energy has over 80 gigawatts, although the systems ultimately produce less electricity than wind turbines. The construction of solar fields reached a new record in 2023 and is therefore above government targets.
BWE President Bärbel Heidebroek warned that, given the gap that still exists in relation to the government’s goals, the traffic light coalition’s decisions to reduce obstacles must have consequences: “These decisions must now be enacted into law as quickly as possible, ideally in the first quarter of this year. ” The main aim is to speed up transport permits for ever larger wind turbines by road and rail.
Tough competition from China and the USA
Heidebroek also pointed out that there is still significantly less construction going on in southern Germany than in the north. That has to change. The mechanical engineering association VDMA-Powersystems explained that the upward trend is positive. However, he referred to the growing competition among producers: “German and European manufacturers find themselves in unequal competition with largely state-supported companies from China and players from the USA who are generously subsidized through the Inflation Reduction Act.”
At the European level there must be criteria that protect the industry from unfair competition. Economics Minister Robert Habeck wants to introduce tender criteria for the solar industry that will protect the remaining German and European manufacturers and, in the best case, enable the industry to revive. While the solar industry has long been dominated by Chinese producers, the wind industry is still dominated by German and European influences. However, Chinese providers in particular are trying to enter the market here.