HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - The expansion of offshore wind energy envisaged by the German government means that up to a quarter of the German Exclusive Economic Zone in the North and Baltic Seas will be covered by wind farms. According to calculations by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency, the wind farms would take up around 20 to 25 percent of the area. "It should not be forgotten that a wind farm consists of individual turbines that are 800 to 1000 meters apart," said Nico Nolte, head of the "Order of the Sea" department, in Hamburg on Tuesday. However, he is optimistic that the BSH will be able to accomplish its ambitious tasks. The Exclusive Economic Zone includes almost 33,000 square kilometers of the North Sea and Baltic Sea, which lie outside the sovereign territory but may be used commercially by Germany.

The traffic light government wants to increase the installed capacity of offshore wind energy to 70 gigawatts by 2045. There are currently 1564 wind turbines with a total capacity of 8.4 gigawatts off the coasts of the North and Baltic Seas. Four further wind farms with a capacity of 2.54 gigawatts are currently under construction. "The energy transition is changing the use of the North Sea and Baltic Sea to an unprecedented extent," said Helge Heegewaldt, President of the Federal Office. Competition for space with fishing and shipping is growing. However, he emphasized: "We are convinced that offshore wind energy is an elementary building block for the transformation of our energy system and for mitigating climate change."

Nolte assured that the high standards for marine nature conservation would be maintained when designating the areas and approving the turbines: "There will be no lowering of standards."

In February, the Federal Office issued a new regulation to implement the Offshore Wind Energy Act. This determined the suitability of three areas in the North Sea for the construction of offshore wind turbines. Energy companies can build three wind farms with a combined capacity of 5.5 gigawatts on the marine areas put up for auction./bsp/DP/mis