German Offshore Wind Energy Flies Past 1 GW Mark
By the time New Year’s Day ticked over in Germany, the country had 258 offshore wind turbines feeding power into the national grid, with a total capacity of 1,049.2 MW.
According to the figures released Thursday, 142 of the turbines totalling 528.9 MW were connected to the grid in 2014, representing a greater than 50% increase on the previous year. Even more impressive, however, is that there are another 268 turbines with a capacity of 1,218.1 MW currently waiting connection to the grid, but that have completed construction.
The figures come courtesy of Deutsche WindGuard on behalf of the four organisations VDMA Power Systems, the German Energy Association (BWE), the Wind Energy Agency (WAB) and the German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation (SOW).
Development of Offshore Wind Energy in Germany (OWT feeding-in), Status: 31st December 2014
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“Out at sea we have now officially broken through the gigawatt barrier for installed capacity,” said Norbert Giese, chairman of the VDMA steering committee for the offshore wind industry and board member of the German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation. “This corresponds to an investment volume of around 4 billion euros. In addition, turbine, foundation and grid technology exports are also in the billion-euro range.”
“In 2015 we are expecting up to 2 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity to be newly connected to the grid. By the end of 2015, we will see a total of some 3 gigawatts installed capacity online, which corresponds to an investment of 10 billion euros in the domestic market of the German offshore wind industry.”
Furthermore, according to Hermann Albers, president of the German Wind Energy Association BWE, the German offshore wind energy industry is well placed to continue its growth.
“The figures we have presented show that, despite all the past challenges, we have achieved a stable growth of offshore wind capacity,” Albers said.
“The offshore technology, which has great potential for realizing the energy transition and ensuring security of supply in Germany, is on the edge of a decisive breakthrough. More than ever, a reliable legal framework is decisive for the future development. Only when investment security is ensured, it will be possible to fully exploit the cost reduction potential, maintain Germany’s leading technological position, and harness export success on a growing global market.”
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