Only few German wind turbines profitable after end of 20-year support payments

Operating wind turbines in Germany will only be profitable for a small fraction of the installations once their 20-year support period via the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) has ended, consultancy Energy Brainpool says in a white paper. The first turbines in Germany will lose eligibility for support from the renewables surcharge that customers pay with their power bill in 2021 and “at the current [wholesale power] price level, only a few installations can be operated at a profit” after that due to maintenance costs, the consultancy says. Energy Brainpool uses two different scenarios with varying CO₂ price levels, which is expected to rise over the course of the coming decade. “Yield rates are too low to operate the bulk of installations at a profit,” the consultancy says, but adds that “a continued operation can become economically viable quickly” by the middle of the 2020s if the prices for electricity and carbon emissions rise accordingly. 

Find a blog entry on the white paper in German here and the white paper in German here.

For background, see the CLEW dossier Onshore wind power in Germany and the CLEW article Booming German wind power sector fears 2019 cliff.