German offshore wind pioneers mull global expansion

Leading energy companies from Germany plan to take advantage of their know-how acquired  through the Energiewende and take their business to the global stage, Jürgen Flauger and Franz Hubik write in Handelsblatt. Utility EnBW, which used to be heavily invested in nuclear power and now stands among the leading offshore wind power operators, wants to “expand into a whole new range of markets”, the authors say. Bolstered by financial support, nearly 90 percent of global offshore wind power capacities today are found in Europe, while markets like China or the US are still largely unexploited, they argue. Rapid growth rates of 17 percent per year in the offshore wind business, as calculations by market researcher Make suggest, encourage EnBW to eye investments in Asia and North America. Berthold Bonanni of the Commerzbank says Europe has a technological advantage in the field that no other region will match any time soon.

Read the article in German here (paywall).

See the CLEW factsheet German onshore wind power – output, business and perspectives for more information.