Trade union calls for greater expansion of wind power

Germany’s next government must ramp up expansion targets for wind power to meet the country’s climate targets and secure stable conditions for the industry, trade union IG Metall Küste says in a press release. IG Metall called on state premiers, particularly from northern German states, to put the issue high on the agenda during exploratory talks to form a government of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU block and the Social Democrats (SPD). Olaf Lies, environment minister of northern wind power state Lower Saxony, said caps on the expansion of onshore and offshore wind power capacities must be removed to meet the country’s 2030 climate targets and secure jobs in the industry. “The latest auctions have shown that renewable power can be produced offshore without any additional funding,” Lies said, adding that Germany should increase its expansion goal for offshore wind power to 20 gigawatts (GW) installed capacity by 2030 (current goal: 15 GW).

Read the press release in German here.

See the CLEW dossier Onshore Wind Power in Germany for background.