Next German government must put greater focus on offshore wind expansion – industry group
Clean Energy Wire
The German offshore wind power industry has proposed a range of measures for the country’s next government that could set off “a Germany-wide economic miracle at sea” by boosting the output of the country’s renewable power sector.
The industry group Offshore Wind Power Foundation (Stiftung Offshore Windenergie) said expanding the country’s offshore wind turbine fleet from its capacity of about 9 gigawatts (GW) in 2024 to at least 70 GW by 2045 means that “a substantial part” of Germany’s renewable power production will take place at sea, with up to one quarter of all electricity production being provided by offshore turbines. Thanks to its ability to deliver base load capacity for the power system, the technology will make a “key contribution” to the economy’s transition towards clean electricity at affordable prices, the foundation argued.
At the same time, offshore wind power expansion is expected to unleash more than 10 billion euros in private investments in the supply chain each year, which would benefit producers all over the country, the group added. The foundation said that “political reliability and the will to shape policy” of the next government would be required for offshore wind energy to fully develop its beneficial effects. The foundation lists 13 measures, which include fixed auction volumes for new turbines, a coordinated expansion of grid infrastructure to transport electricity produced at sea inland, security provisions to protect physical offshore infrastructure, efficient spatial planning in cooperation with neighbouring countries, and more innovation and research.
While the foundation lauded Germany’s outgoing government under chancellor Olaf Scholz for having enacted important legislation to boost renewable power expansion overall, it lamented that offshore wind power did not benefit as much from this as other renewable power technologies. A new government, most likely under conservative candidate Friedrich Merz, must pursue a “far-looking approach” that considers surrounding industrial and financial conditions and spillover effects for offshore wind from other sectors of the economy. The auction design was particularly in need of reform to move away from a “focus on maximising the state’s income,” the foundation argued.
