Germany increased installed offshore wind capacity by 3.1% to 8,385 megawatts (MW) in the first half of 2023, industry lobbyists said on Tuesday, demanding better revenue guarantees to maintain a pace of development and ensure it reaches the 30,000 MW target by 2030.
Wind power is central to Germany’s transition to renewables, as Berlin aims to generate at least 80% of electricity production by 2030 from green sources such as solar and wind, compared to around 50% today, to reduce carbon emissions.
“After years of weak additions, the industry is at the starting points to implement a large number of projects,” the organizations BWE, BWO, the German offshore wind foundation, VDMA Power Systems, WAB and WindEnergy Network said.
But a 7,000 MW tender won by two oil majors earlier this month, in which they agreed to pay the state a record 12.6 billion euros ($13.91 billion) to develop the offshore sites, concerned industry groups.
The tender design had left very little room for equipment manufacturers to earn revenue, they said.
“Therefore, the German (related) Offshore Wind Energy Act (WindSeeG) must be urgently amended this year,” they said.
The main demand is an adjustment of what they described as flexible qualitative criteria in the tenders, in order to increase the probability that the capacity will actually be built.
The sector has suffered an accelerated development, problems in the supply chain, very high material costs and some quality problems.
The latest total capacity of 8,385 MW compares with the 8,136 MW registered on December 31, 2022, Deutsche WindGuard research showed.
The 249 MW gain was split between 229 MW of new turbine construction and a 20 MW upgrade at the Veja Mate marine park.
The 257 MW Acardis ost 1 farm will likely be operational by the end of this year.
In 2022, just 342 MW were added as power markets were hit by record prices and supply uncertainty after Russia cut off gas exports to the West in Germany.
