BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - The expansion of onshore wind power in Germany is likely to pick up speed significantly in the coming years. The reason for this is a record number of newly approved wind turbines last year. Industry associations called on the new federal government to ensure that the expansion of wind energy continues unabated. They said it would secure the energy supply, reduce the cost of electricity and create jobs.

Record year for approvals

In 2024, more new onshore wind turbines were approved in Germany than ever before. According to the German Wind Energy Association and the VDMA Power Systems association, the authorities approved around 2,400 new plants with a total output of around 14 gigawatts nationwide. This represents an increase of 85 percent compared to the previous year. On average, it takes just over two years from approval to the construction of a wind turbine and its first feed-in of electricity into the grid.

Fewer new wind turbines connected to the grid

Last year, 635 new wind turbines went into operation with a total capacity of 3.25 gigawatts. That was nine percent less than in the previous year. The installed capacity thus increased to around 63.5 gigawatts. Most of the new wind turbines went into operation in North Rhine-Westphalia (154), followed by Lower Saxony (127). In Bavaria, on the other hand, there were only 8 new wind turbines.

Because old wind turbines were also decommissioned, the so-called net increase in wind energy capacity was around 2.5 gigawatts. By way of comparison, a conventional nuclear power plant has an output of 1 to 1.4 gigawatts. Germany phased out nuclear power in April 2023.

Significant increase expected

For the current year, 2025, the associations expect an increase of 4.8 to 5.3 gigawatts. However, the political expansion target for 2024 was missed. The Renewable Energy Sources Act stipulates a total installed capacity of 69 gigawatts. No target has been set for 2025, but the target for 2026 is an output of 84 gigawatts. From the industry's point of view, it will be ambitious to achieve this target.

Dennis Rendschmidt, managing director of VDMA Power Systems, spoke of a considerable backlog. Only by decisively breaking down hurdles could approvals be quickly converted into realized projects. For example, requirements for large-scale and heavy-duty transports would have to be standardized, the transport infrastructure modernized and grid connections accelerated.

However, there are often local protests against the construction of wind turbines. Conflicts with nature and species conservation as well as billions in subsidies for renewable energies have also been criticized.

Significance of wind power

Onshore wind turbines play a key role in the German government's strategy for achieving climate protection goals and thus emancipating Germany from fossil fuels such as coal and gas. The government's goal is for 80 percent of the country's electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2030. Last year, according to industry figures, the figure was 55 percent.

According to industry associations, almost 112 billion kilowatt hours of electricity were generated by onshore wind turbines in 2024. This means that onshore wind energy was the most important source of energy for electricity generation in Germany, accounting for more than a quarter of the total.

Wind power from the north has to be transported to the south

Wind energy is expanding its leading role as the most important energy source in the German electricity mix, said Bärbel Heidebroek, president of the German Wind Energy Association. One of the main tasks of the new federal government will be to see how grids can be used more efficiently.

Every year, billions are spent on measures to counter bottlenecks in the power grid. This involves grid operators intervening in power generation, for example by shutting down wind turbines, in order to avoid overloading. To prevent this in the future, thousands of kilometers of new power lines are to be built. These are intended to bring the wind power generated primarily in the north to the major industrial centers in the south./hoe/DP/jha