Recently, the German industrial organization VDMA and the wind energy industry organization BWE jointly released wind power data for the first half of 2022. In the first half of the year, Germany only added 977,000 kilowatts of onshore wind power, a "slight" increase of 0.2% over the same period in 2021, far short of Germany's annual new installation target. The industry generally believes that too few available wind farm sites, lengthy approval processes and supply chain disruptions are the main challenges facing the expansion of the German wind power industry.
According to data released by the above-mentioned agencies, in the first half of this year, the number of new onshore wind turbines put into operation in Germany was only 238, and the total installed capacity of the latest approved wind power projects was 1.536 million kilowatts, far below expectations.
It is understood that in order to cope with the current energy supply crisis and achieve the established climate goals, the German government raised the wind power development goals several times in the first half of the year. By 2030, Germany plans to increase the proportion of renewable energy generation in the power supply system to 80%, and to nearly 100% by 2035, which means that onshore wind power needs to add an average of 10 million kilowatts of installed capacity every year.
Not only that, but new installations of offshore wind power in Germany have been slower. As of the end of June, no new offshore wind projects had been commissioned in Germany this year, according to BWE. However, according to the goals set by the German government, Germany should add at least 30 million kilowatts of offshore wind power capacity by 2030, at least 40 million kilowatts by 2035, and at least 70 million kilowatts by 2045.
Several German industry research institutes believe that factors such as insufficient land, slow project approvals, labor shortages and supply chain disruptions have combined to lead to the current predicament of the German wind power industry.
In addition to the above factors, BWE further pointed out that the latest Offshore Wind Act approved by the German federal government will also bring new challenges to the development of the offshore wind power industry. It is understood that the bill proposes the latest bidding system for German offshore wind power projects. Offshore wind power developers need to pay a fee to the federal government on the basis of a "zero subsidy electricity price", that is, a "negative subsidy" system. BWE believes that this bidding mechanism will increase developers' up-front investment costs, offshore wind projects will become more complex and expensive, and developers will eventually pass on "additional expenses" to end consumers.
