Wind power in Germany

Wind farm in Neuenkirchen

Erection of an Enercon E70-4 in Germany

Wind power in Germany describes wind power in Germany as part of energy in Germany and renewable energy in Germany. In 2011, the installed capacity of wind power in Germany was 29,075 megawatts (MW), with wind power producing about 7.7 percent of Germany’s total electrical power.^[1] According to EWEA in a normal wind year, installed wind capacity in Germany will meet 10.6% at end 2011 and 9.3% at end 2010 of the German electricity needs.^[2][3] The persistent disparity between EWEA estimates for a "normal wind year" and the actual data tabulated below is due to the EWEA relying on an unrealistically high capacity factor for German wind production.

More than 21,607 wind turbines are located in the German federal area and the country has plans to build more wind turbines.^[4][5] As of 2011, Germany's federal government is working on a new plan for increasing renewable energy commercialization,^[6] with a particular focus on offshore wind farms.^[7] A major challenge will be the development of sufficient network capacities for transmitting the power generated in the North Sea to the large industrial consumers in southern Germany.^[8]

Overview

As of 2010, Wind power in Germany provides over 96,100 people with jobs and German wind energy systems are also exported.^[4][9] The Fuhrländer Wind Turbine Laasow, built in 2006 near the village of Laasow, Brandenburg, is the tallest wind turbine in the world.

In Germany, hundreds of thousands of people have invested in citizens' wind farms across the country and thousands of small and medium sized enterprises are running successful businesses in a new sector that in 2008 employed 90,000 people and generated 8 percent of Germany's electricity.^[10] Wind power has gained very high social acceptance in Germany.^[11]

Repowering

Repowering, the replacement of first-generation wind turbines with modern multi-megawatt machines, is occurring in Germany. Modern turbines make better use of available wind energy and so more wind power can come from the same area of land. Modern turbines also offer much better grid integration since they use a connection method similar to conventional power plants.^[12][13]

Offshore wind power

Offshore wind farms in the German Bight

Offshore wind energy also has great potential in Germany.^[14] Wind speed at sea is 70 to 100% higher than onshore and much more constant. A new generation of 5 MW or larger wind turbines which are capable of making full use of the potential of wind power at sea has already been developed and prototypes are available. This makes it possible to operate offshore wind farms in a cost-effective way once the usual initial difficulties of new technologies have been overcome.^[15]

On 15 July 2009, the first offshore German windturbine completed construction. This turbine is the first of a total of 12 wind turbines for the alpha ventus offshore wind farm in the North Sea.^[16]

Following the 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents, Germany's federal government is working on a new plan for increasing renewable energy commercialization, with a particular focus on offshore wind farms.^[17] Under the plan, large wind turbines will be erected far away from the coastlines, where the wind blows more consistently than it does on land, and where the enormous turbines won't bother the inhabitants. The plan aims to decrease Germany's dependence on energy derived from coal and nuclear power plants.^[7] The German government wants to see 7.6 GW installed by 2020 and as much as 26 GW by 2030.^[18]

A major challenge will be the lack of sufficient network capacities for transmitting the power generated in the North Sea to the large industrial consumers in southern Germany.^[8]

In 2014, all in all 410 turbines with 1747 megawatts were added to Germany's offshore windparks. Due to not yet finished grid-connections, only turbines with combined 528.9 megawatts were added to the grid feed at the end of 2014. Despite this, the gigawatt offshore windpower barrier has been breached by Germany at the end of 2014.^[19]

Energy transition

The 2010 "Energiewende" policy has been embraced by the German federal government and has resulted in a huge expansion of renewables, particularly wind power. Germany's share of renewables has increased from around 5% in 1999 to 17% in 2010, reaching close to the OECD average of 18% usage of renewables.^[20] Producers have been guaranteed a fixed feed-in tariff for 20 years, guaranteeing a fixed income. Energy co-operatives have been created, and efforts were made to decentralize control and profits. The large energy companies have a disproportionately small share of the renewables market. Nuclear power plants were closed, and the existing 9 plants will close earlier than necessary, in 2022.

The reduction of reliance on nuclear plants has so far had the consequence of increased reliance on fossil fuels and on electricity imports from France. One factor that has inhibited efficient employment of new renewable energy has been the lack of an accompanying investment in power infrastructure to bring the power to market.^[20]

Different Länder have varying attitudes to the construction of new power lines. Industry has had their rates frozen and so the increased costs of the Energiewende have been passed on to consumers, who have had rising electricity bills. Germans in 2013 had some of the highest electricity costs in Europe.^[21]

Statistics

Wind Power in Germany 1990-2011: Installed capacity (MW) in red and average power generated (MW) in blue.

Installed wind power capacity and generation in recent years is shown in the table below:^[22][23]

Offshore only:

States

Geographic distribution of wind farms in Germany

In Saxony-Anhalt 48.11% of electricity was produced with wind power in 2011.^[24]

Share of the potential annual energy yield of the net electrical energy consumption in 2011:

State	No. Turbines	Installed Capacity [MW]	Share in the net electrical energy consumption [%]
Saxony-Anhalt	2,352	3,642.31	48.11
Brandenburg	3,053	4,600.51	47.65
Schleswig-Holstein	2,705	3,271.19	46.46
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern	1,385	1,627.30	46.09
Lower Saxony	5,501	7,039.42	24.95
Thuringia	601	801.33	12.0
Rhineland-Palatinate	1,177	1,662.63	9.4
Saxony	838	975.82	8.0
Bremen	73	140.86	4.7
North Rhine-Westphalia	2,881	3,070.86	3.9
Hesse	665	687.11	2.8
Saarland	89	127.00	2.5
Bavaria	486	683.60	1.3
Baden-Württemberg	378	486.38	0.9
Hamburg	60	53.40	0.7
Berlin	1	2.00	0.0
offshore North Sea	31	155.00
offshore Baltic Sea	21	48.30
Germany Total	22,297	29,075.02	9.9

See also

• Renewable energy in Germany

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wind power in Germany.

• Germany Inaugurates 5 MW Wind Turbine Prototype
• 5-MW BARD Near-shore Wind Turbine Erected in Germany
• Deutsche Energie-Agentur (Dena), German Energy Agency
• Official site about wind power and renewable Energy in the Emscher-Lippe-Region
• Cost-optimal expansion of renewables would save Germany up to two billion euros a year

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