German wind power market faces severe slump in expansion – report

Germany could see a substantial drop in wind power expansion in the next years, Kathrin Witsch writes for the Handelsblatt. Capacity growth could drop from 6,500 megawatts (MW) in 2017 to merely 1,100 in 2019, she writes. The introduction of Germany’s renewables auction system and a general drop in support payments have hit the industry hard, Witsch writes. Nearly 40 percent of over 1,200 international wind power companies said in a survey that the situation for onshore wind power Germany is worse than in many other regions in Europe and around the world, Witsch says. Bidders offering to operate offshore wind power farms without any support has meant “a radical change” for the industry, but companies are optimistic that the situation could improve by 2020 as costs for manufacturers will likely fall as well. However, companies like industrial heavyweight Siemens are calling on the German government to ramp up expansion plans, especially offshore, to avoid layoffs and an expansion gap in the sector, Witsch says.

Read the article in German here.

See the CLEW factsheets on Germany’s onshore and offshore wind energy industry for background.