German Onshore Wind Installation Grows by 46%

The German onshore wind industry witnessed a massive year-on-year growth of 46% in terms of installation with the addition of 1431MW or 420 turbines in 2020, according to GlobalData.

The country aims to get 65% of its power from wind, solar and other renewable energy sources by 2030 and subsequently emerge as carbon neutral by 2050.

However, to achieve the climate target, the country needs an average of 5GW+ new onshore wind power permits each year from now until 2050, analysts at the data and analytics company said.

Since the introduction of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) in 2000, the onshore wind industry in Germany has been struggling with federal and state governments’ restrictive distance regulation.

It has also witnessed historical lows in 2019, when the construction of more than 11GW was put on hold due to licensing issues.

GlobalData project manager Mohit Prasad said: "These were mainly around mandatory minimum distance from the residential areas and aviation infrastructure.

"This was coupled with the flawed auction mechanism.

"The flawed auction design and difficulties in obtaining licenses for turbine construction have discouraged investors, resulting in a lackluster performance of the auction mechanism."

GlobalData reported that, following the switch to competitive auctions in 2017, Germany reported fall in net annual installations from 2.2GW in 2018 to an all-time low of around 900MW in 2019.

The EEG 2021, passed at the end of 2020, outlines the onshore wind capacity to be 71GW by the end of 2030.

According to GlobalData, Germany has cumulative onshore wind installations of around 55GW at the end of 2020.

An increase of 30% in the next ten years is required to achieve the target.

Prasad added: "With a view to the election year 2021, the country might avoid a regulatory standstill.

"The EEG 2021, which provides a planning security of almost 4GW of tender volume per year up to 2028, be the catalyst for the revival of onshore wind industry."

With the last nuclear power plant to be shut down in 2022 and the coal power plants to be phased out by 2038, the country is aiming to achieve 65% of its power from renewable energy sources by 2030.

Prasad concluded: "The target of 71GW of onshore wind by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050 can be addressed by making amendments to the existing auction mechanism and project licensing for onshore wind projects."