- The gross increase in onshore wind energy by 2,402 megawatts (MW) and 743 turbines in 2018 is falling short of the already low expectations
- Short-term prospects for expansion in 2019 – 2020 remain weak; special tenders give hope for recovery from 2021 onwards
- Compromise on coal phase-out reaffirms the requirement to fix medium- and long-term expansion scheme for achieving climate protection targets by 2030
- Streamlining permit-procedures and removal of administrative barriers are essential
Berlin, 29 January 2019 – According to the figures provided by Deutsche WindGuard, the gross expansion of onshore wind turbines in 2018 is virtually collapsing. With only 2,402 megawatts (MW) or 743 turbines, new construction is still falling short of the 2013 level, although the demand for renewable electricity will increase significantly in perspective. The installations correspond to a decline of 55 per cent compared to 2017 and thus are even well below the figures of 3,300 MW estimated by the German Wind Energy Association (BWE) and VDMA Power Systems in mid-2018.
“Today it is more important than ever to quickly define the expansion of renewable energies towards the 2030 target and to adapt the expansion paths. The Stop-and-Go must be stopped. The stable high level of new construction between 2013 and 2017 has sustainably supported the climate protection targets of the Federal Government as well as the expansion targets for renewable energies in the federal states. While a sustained increase in the expansion of renewable energies – justified by the achieved cost reductions and the recently announced decision not to generate electricity from lignite and hard coal – would be logical, there will be a massive decline in 2018 and 2019 instead. This endangers the leading position of the German wind industry in international competition and poses considerable challenges for the industry. Even the fact that Germany remains the largest market for onshore wind energy in Europe cannot hide this fact,” comments Matthias Zelinger, Managing Director of VDMA Power Systems, on the figures, adding: “It is self-explanatory that the 65 percent target of the Federal Government cannot be achieved by 2030 if the currently foreseeable annual expansion is continued.
Cause of the dramatic slump
The reason for the low level of new construction is the high proportion of projects awarded without approval, which dominated the tenders in 2017 and have not yet been implemented. In addition, more than 900 MW from the old Renewable Energies Act (EEG) could not be connected to the grid on time – there are three main reasons for this: An authorisation granted no longer creates legal certainty because almost every authorisation is sued. These procedures are taking up more and more time and are therefore delaying implementation. On the other hand, there were projects which, under the impression of the strongly degressive EEG remuneration, went into a process of changed permissions in order to prepare for participation in new tenders. Furthermore, it was only after the deadline of 28 February 2017 that project developers decided to participate in tenders after the transitional period expired on 31 December 2018.
