Onshore wind permits in Germany fell by 70 percent since 2016 - utility group

The number of permits issued for onshore wind turbines in Germany has dropped by more than 70 percent within three years, says German utility association BDEW. "Whereas three years ago 1,228 permits were issued in the period from January to September, only 351 were issued in the first three quarters of this year," BDEW said in a press release. The additionally approved capacity fell from 3.6 to 1.3 gigawatts (GW), according to data from onshore wind agency Fachagentur Wind an Land and the grid agency, BDEW said. "This means that the number of permits is now at a worryingly low level for the third year in succession," according to the lobby group. In 2018 as a whole, only 432 permits were issued for onshore wind turbines - equivalent to 1.5 GW. The association said that between 2.9 and 4.3 GW onshore wind power would have to be added annually in order to achieve Germany's climate targets.

Thousands of planned onshore wind projects in Germany are currently put on hold, mainly due to regulatory conflicts with aviation authorities but also due to protest groups challenging new installations in court. Engineering association VDMA Power Systems has recently warned that a persisting slump in wind power expansion would put nearly one-third of all jobs in the industry at risk.