Two large offshore wind farms are scheduled to go into operation off the coast of Lower Saxony this year and next. However, the state government is now demanding more support from the federal government for further expansion.
Lower Saxony’s state government wants to advocate for a faster expansion of offshore wind power in the Federal Council. The cabinet passed a corresponding proposal on Tuesday. The State Chancellery announced that the federal government is called upon to create planning security for offshore wind power beyond 2030. In addition, capacities for the production of components would have to be increased, more installation and supply ships would have to be purchased and growth in production would have to be financed. “The federal government’s support is requested for all of this,” it said.
Energy Minister Christian Meyer (Greens) said that offshore wind power, along with onshore wind energy and solar energy, is an important building block in achieving climate goals. Lower Saxony therefore supports the federal government’s expansion goal of 30 gigawatts of power by 2030 and 70 gigawatts by 2045 as well as the EU’s goal of 60 gigawatts by 2030 and 300 gigawatts by 2050 for the entire North Sea.
According to the Federal Network Agency, only just under 8.5 gigawatts of wind energy have been installed at sea so far, and last year only 257 megawatts were added. According to the Lower Saxony state government, this year and next, large offshore wind farms off the coast of Lower Saxony, “Gode Wind 3” and “Borkum Riffgrund 3”, will be connected to the grid for the first time in a long time.
“Lower Saxony benefits from the expansion of offshore wind energy with many jobs and cheap, renewable and climate-neutral electricity to supply millions of households and produce green hydrogen,” said Energy Minister Meyer, according to the announcement.
Last week, the coastal states had already demanded more help from the federal government with offshore expansion. The expansion will significantly change the coastal states, said Lower Saxony’s Economics Minister Olaf Lies. Cable routes would have to be laid and ports expanded. “We’re not just doing this for ourselves,” said the SPD politician. “It all benefits the rest of Germany too.” The federal government should therefore not leave the states alone in the development of their coastal regions.
Source: Stern
