More and more wind turbines are turning in the German North and Baltic Seas. The installed capacity increased last year. But in practice there is a problem: industry representatives warn of bottlenecks.
The expansion of wind energy systems in German waters increased somewhat last year. A total of 1,566 wind turbines with a total output of 8.5 gigawatts (GW) went into operation in 2023, as the consulting firm Deutsche Windguard writes in a presented report. This means the installed capacity increased by around five percent. However, this capacity cannot be fully utilized.
The reason is a lack of network capacity on land, explained project manager Merle Heyken. Last year, 23.5 terawatt hours were fed in, 4.9 percent less than the previous year. The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency expects delays of up to two years for connection lines for planned wind farms. Network operators are talking about delivery bottlenecks for important components.
According to the federal government’s goals, Germany should generate at least 30 GW of energy annually through offshore wind farms by 2030, at least 40 GW by 2035 and at least 70 GW by 2045. The 2030 goal can be achieved, the report says, if projects that were in operation, construction and preparation at the turn of the year are included. But for that to happen it would have to be considerably faster. In order to achieve the 2030 target, plants with an average capacity of 3.1 GW per year would have to be put into operation by then. In order to achieve the expansion targets for 2035 and 2040, additional areas would have to be designated for wind power.
Personnel, space, lawsuits
In general, the industry warns of a large number of bottlenecks. The managing director of the energy plant construction association VDMA Power Systems, Dennis Rendschmidt, spoke of an increasing need for personnel for the construction and maintenance of the systems, but also for ports, ships and production. Jens Assheuer, CEO of the wind industry and hydrogen association WAB, said there was a need for an additional 200 hectares of port space where cables, turbines and other parts for wind farms could be stored and shipped. The construction or expansion of ports, like other projects necessary for the energy transition, would have to be legally designated as being of outstanding public interest in order to limit the possibility of legal action by environmental associations, for example. “Then the legal process is much shorter and much faster, and then a port like this can be built sooner.”
There was also criticism of the awarding process for offshore wind areas. Last year, the Federal Network Agency auctioned off areas for the first time, generating billions in revenue, most of which will now be used to finance network expansion. This in turn should benefit electricity customers in terms of costs. Rendschmidt criticized the process: There is a lack of money throughout the entire supply chain and will drive up future electricity costs, especially for industry. Assheuer emphasized that the money had to be earned again. “The price of electricity will probably have to go up because the sums that were offered have to be recovered.” He advocated making part of the proceeds available for the construction of urgently needed port areas.
The amount of bids in area auctions must be capped, and criteria beyond costs, such as the trainee quota, must be specified because they represent an obstacle for the industry, several industry associations demanded in a joint statement.
Focus on the North Sea
According to German Windguard, most offshore wind farms are located at least 40 kilometers from the coast in water depths of 20 meters or more. Future projects would be planned in areas further and further away from the coast. New wind turbines are becoming increasingly larger: currently plans are being made for rotor diameters of up to 236 meters and hub heights of up to 145 meters.
The North Sea accounts for the majority of the output (7.1 GW). 1.4 GW is generated in the Baltic Sea. Most wind farms supply their electricity to the Lower Saxony mainland via connection lines. The remaining North Sea wind farms are connected in Schleswig-Holstein.
Source: Stern
