Wind Energy in Germany
2022 wind energy numbers
Germany continues to value wind energy as a main contributor to the green energy transition and a key supply of renewable energy. In lieu of the energy crisis caused by the war against Ukraine, the transition towards renewable energy has become a greater strategic focus.
To support this transformation, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) has developed the so-called Land-Based Wind Energy Strategy [1], which aims to develop a land-based wind power capacity of 160 GW by 2035. The main aspects of this strategy are to accelerate the installation of wind turbines (WT), increase WT reliability, reduce the cost of energy, improve acceptance among the public, educate skilled personnel, facilitate transportation, and continue to support further research. Another pillar of the German energy supply will be the significant expansion of offshore wind energy, where a target of 40 GW is to be installed by 2035 and 70 GW by 2045, according to the Offshore Wind Energy Act (WindSeeG) [2].
To read more about German’s wind energy sector in 2022, read their chapter in the 2022 Annual Report.
National Targets
Germany continues its rapid transition towards renewable energies with ambitious new goals. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) has developed the so-called Land-Based Wind Energy Strategy [1], which sets a target of 160 GW of land-based wind power capacity to be installed by 2035. The Offshore Wind Energy Act (WindSeeG) [2] supports the massive expansion of offshore wind energy by setting a goal of 40 GW in installed capacity by 2035 and 70 GW by 2045.
Progress & Operational Details
In 2022, wind energy continued as the largest contributor to renewable electricity generation. Wind energy constituted 22.8% of gross electricity consumption, while renewable energies collectively contributed 46.2%. The amount of new added capacity amounted to 2.75 GW in 2022, which is an increase compared to the previous year where 1.95 GW was installed. The additional capacity in 2022 increased partly due to the 342 MW from newly installed offshore wind turbines [16]. In regard to offshore turbines, the average nameplate capacity of newly added turbines is 9 MW, with 167 m rotor diameter and 108 m hub height. The average capacity of onshore wind turbines increased by 10% in comparison to 2021 to 4.4 MW, while the average hub height of 138 m and rotor diameter of 137 m remained mostly unchanged. It must be noted that these averages are impacted by the large proportion of 132 turbines with relatively low average hub heights of 109 m and rotor diameters of 128 m. However, Germany’s most IEA WIND TCP GERMANY 2022 3 northern state, Schleswig-Holstein, has an average tip height above 200 m [32].
National RDD Priorities and Budget
Germany continues to pursue a very broad R&D programme (7th Energy Research Programme of the Federal Government), rather than focusing on a specific subject. Two of the main goals are to reduce energy costs and accelerate the increase of wind power capacities. To this end, several options are considered: Increasing turbine reliability, extending turbine lifetime, enabling higher wind turbine performance by using bigger rotors or increased hub heights, understanding wind physics, optimising system engineering, identifying new onshore sites for wind turbines, and inciting more dialogue on offshore logistics and maintenance topics. As well as building new wind turbines, the decommissioning of end-of-life wind turbines needs to be examined in terms of recyclability and circularity, as well as social acceptance. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) has provided 89.19 million EUR (95.70 million USD) to fund 469 active and ongoing research projects in the field of wind energy in 2022, see Figure 1. Additionally, BMWK started 107 new research projects with a new funding amount of 63.99 million EUR (68.66 million USD), including an additional supplementary amount of 4.24 million EUR (4.56 million USD) for ten projects that started in the years before.