Offshore wind power yield from German North Sea up 8% in 2024

Offshore wind farms in the German North Sea generated around eight percent more wind power last year compared to 2023, transmission system operator TenneT said. At 20.8 terawatt hours (TWh), offshore wind power going from the German North Sea to land could in theory cover the annual electricity demand of around 6.5 million households, it said.

"The North Sea, with its enormous potential for wind energy, is a stable pillar in Germany's energy mix and continues to gain in importance," Tim Meyerjürgens, CEO of TenneT Germany, said. However, he called for better use of the North Sea area through "intelligent" re-zoning. "The aim must be to maximize the actual energy yield, not the installed capacity, in order to keep costs as low as possible," Meyerjürgens said.

This call, however, was met with criticism by environmental NGO NABU, news agency dpa reported in an article published by Handelsblatt. Kim Detloff, head of marine protection at the organisation told dpa that established planning and environmental criteria would be abolished, and that this no longer was about nature-friendly climate protection, but about maximising profits.

Germany has made offshore wind power a key pillar of its plans for an almost fully renewable electricity supply. Offshore wind capacity in Germany's North and Baltic Seas reached 9.2 gigawatts at the end of 2024 (8.5 GW in 2023). The total offshore wind yield for the year reached 25.7 TWh, compared to 23.5 TWh in 2023. The country has set targets to increase offshore wind capacity to 30 GW by 2030, 40 GW by 2035 and 70 GW by 2045.