Germany discontinued more onshore wind farms than it added for the first time after the subsidy program ended. Yet, the country still expanded the capacity of wind power, its most important energy source, in the race to meet its climate targets.
Between January and June 2024, 277 wind farms were taken offline, while 250 new projects were added, Bloomberg reported.
Germany added about 900 MW of new capacity because newer turbines can generate about five times as much electricity as those installed two decades ago.
Electricity generation from wind power makes up more than a quarter of the country’s electricity mix.
As of June 2024, Germany had 62 gigawatts of capacity, falling significantly short of its 2030 target of 115 gigawatts. The amount of capacity added this year is also less than the total added in the previous year.
Bärbel Heidebroek, President of the German Wind Energy Association BWE, said in a press release, “Further efforts are required to minimize the gap between actual expansion and the envisaged political expansion path and thus trigger investment decisions. The federal and state governments must continue to remove bureaucratic barriers and administrative obstacles. In addition, planning security is also needed for the financing of projects.”
The government has attempted to expedite the approval process, and recent onshore auctions have witnessed high participation.
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Most onshore plants receive subsidies as a guaranteed premium per kilowatt-hour, but these payments cease after 20 years.
Germany aims to achieve 80% renewable energy by the end of the decade, up from the current 50%. To meet this goal, Germany needs to double its onshore capacity. To reach its annual expansion target, Germany would need to add another 7 gigawatts by the end of this year.
However, forecasts from BloombergNEF predict that only about half of this capacity will come online.
