Offshore wind energy in Germany: growth figures for the first half of 2017

• 108 offshore wind turbines with a combined capacity of 626 megawatts (MW) were brought online by 30 June 2017
• Sandbank and Veja Mate, offshore wind farm projects in the North Sea, were completed on schedule, and expansion is progressing steadily
• Results from round one of the offshore auction reached a milestone, demonstrating high investor confidence in offshore industry innovation and cost-cutting plans
• Politicians are urged to seise opportunities that could have a positive impact on industrial policy and the energy industry. This would require raising minimum offshore capacity targets to 20GW by 2030 and 30GW by 2035
• Annual offshore wind energy production: 2015: 8,285GWh, 2016: 12,365GWh, First half of 2017: 8,480GWh[1] (already roughly 70% of last year’s total output)

Berlin. In the first half of 2017, 108 offshore wind turbines with a combined capacity of 626MW fed power into Germany’s national grid for the first time. The new additions brought the number of turbines in the network as of 30 June 2017 to 1,055 and raised the total capacity to 4,749MW. These are encouraging half-year figures, according to Arbeitsgemeinschaft Offshore-Windenergie (AGOW), Bundesverband WindEnergie (BWE), Stiftung OFFSHORE-WINDENERGIE, VDMA Power Systems and WAB e.V. The industry expects a total increase of approximately 900MW for 2017 as a whole. In the first half of 2017, offshore wind energy produced 8,480GWh of electricity, already roughly 70% of last year’s total output.

Seise potential cost reductions – in Germany and Europe
The tendering results in Germany underscore the potential for innovative advancements and cost reductions in the offshore wind industry. For the first time, renewable energy projects were proposed that are expected to operate without EEG subsidies by the mid-2020s and can be refinanced through the electricity market. Electricity production costs have fallen considerably due to new, reliable, more powerful turbines with larger rotor diameters, a general increase in the scale of wind farm projects, innovations in foundation structures, better operating and maintenance programmes and more favourable financing conditions.

As a result of this paradigm shift, the next federal administration will have new opportunities to exploit the potential benefits of offshore wind energy for industrial policy and the energy sector, specifically by raising minimum capacity targets to 20GW by 2030 and 30GW by 2035. The shift also created the political and technological conditions required to promote the necessary grid expansion. Capping offshore wind energy expansion at 15GW (old target: 25GW) under the EEG 2014 is primarily intended to reduce the costs of the energy transition.

At European level, the offshore industry issued a June 2017 joint statement calling for more ambitious expansion by 2030. The statement reaffirmed the industry’s commitment to boost Europe’s offshore wind capacity by 6GW each year until 2030. An annual expansion of at least 4GW would be required to cut costs. In the statement, Belgian, Danish and German government representatives acknowledged the cost reductions that have already been achieved and advocated a significant expansion by 2030. They also announced their intention to improve conditions for European investment in offshore projects, networks and infrastructure.

Strengthen Germany’s position as a technology leader
The federal government’s current expansion targets, which call for annual capacity increases of 500 – 840MW during the 2020s, would slow the growth of the offshore wind industry in Germany. A strong domestic market, stable policy environment and significant expansion are necessary if the German offshore wind industry is to maintain its technological leadership and exploit economies of scale to reduce costs. The industry, which currently employs 20,000 people, can create new jobs only if German companies continue to participate in the international expansion of offshore wind energy and compete successfully in export markets. In the short term, additional facilities must be provided for testing prototypes and innovative components in offshore projects in German waters. Regulations must be adapted to support these new developments. Only by investing in research and development and aggressively expanding its market share can Germany strengthen its position as a technology leader.

Grid expansion and sector coupling: achieving a successful energy transition
The success of the German energy transition depends on an increased usage of renewable energies, expansion of the grid and promotion of sector coupling. Progress towards these goals is restructuring our entire energy system. Grid infrastructure is expanding rapidly, and the heating and mobility sectors are reducing their dependency on carbon-intensive fossil fuels with an eye to the future.

Various technological approaches should be implemented to temporarily or permanently overcome bottlenecks in the land grid. These should include measures to improve network utilisation. In addition, the necessary must-run capacities should be reviewed. An increase in transparency and the introduction of greater competition in offshore network connections (for example, through cost-cutting tenders) should also be considered. The companies in the offshore wind industry are eager to take an active role — alongside all political, economic and community stakeholders — in shaping this process, which ultimately affects every member of our society.

Figures at a glance: first half of 2017