Politics rather than economics responsible for German wind power companies’ trouble – BWE

Political restrictions on wind power expansion rather than cost pressure in the sector are responsible for the current troubles of many wind power companies in Germany, Hermann Albers, head of the German Wind Energy Association (BWE), says in a press release. Between 2014 and 2017, Germany on average added 4,600 megawatts (MW) of onshore wind power, Albers says. The changes made with the Renewable Energy Act’s 2017 reform are aimed at reducing expansion to 2,800 MW per year. “Not the lack of demand but that of clearly defined political decisions let the market shrink by 40 percent,” he says. Albers calls for a restart of the government’s wind power policy to secure jobs and market shares of German companies, and urges the adoption of a strategy to reach the country’s ambitious 2030 renewable energy goal.

Read the press release in German here.

See the CLEW article Wind industry calls for special auctions amid expansion slowdown for more information.