German offshore wind commitment welcomed but ‘much more to be done’

Responding to the plan to raise the country’s target for offshore wind from 15 GW to 20 GW by 2030, the Offshore Windenergie Foundation said it welcomed the decision by the Climate Cabinet on 20 September 2019 to increase the expansion target for offshore wind.

The foundation’s managing director Andreas Wagner said, “Increasing the expansion target is an important signal for climate and industrial policy. In this way, additional jobs can be created while protecting the climate.”

However, Mr Wagner said the new target of 20 GW by 2030 “corresponds to the minimum demanded by industry, trade unions and North German coastal states” since 2017. “This gives the sector with its circa 25,000 employees a clear expansion perspective,” he said.

He noted that “further ambitious measures” by the Federal Government are needed despite the increase if the country is to increase its share of renewable electricity to 65% by 2030.

The Federation of Wind Farms Offshore (BWO) said the planned increase of 5 GW was welcome but long overdue.

“Even if 20 GW of installed offshore capacity in 2030 cannot save the energy transition on its own, the increase in expansion targets is nevertheless an important step towards achieving the target of 65% renewables in the same year,” it said.

BWO managing director Uwe Knickrehm said, “Now it will be important to bring together the operators of offshore windfarms, transmission system operators and federal and state governments as quickly as possible in order to begin the joint implementation process.

Other elements of the wide-ranging climate plan – including changes to plans for onshore wind – have been met with anger and dismay by the renewables sector and climate activists.