Publications

The Baltic InteGrid project will provide a professional network for expertise exchange and a state-of-the-art interdisciplinary research on the optimization potential of offshore wind energy in the Baltic Sea Region by applying the meshed grid approach.

PROMOTioN seeks to develop meshed HVDC offshore grids on the basis of cost-effective and reliable technological innovation in combination with a sound political, financial and legal regulatory framework.

In the first six months of 2016, 43 new offshore wind turbines were connected to the grid, with an overall capacity of 258 megawatts. By 30 June 2016 there was a total of 835 offshore wind turbines feeding 3,552.2 megawatts of power into the grid. Another 54 turbines, with a capacity of 324 megawatts have already been erected and are due to go on grid shortly. Foundations have been erected for a further 142 turbines. The industry anticipates that in the course of the year new offshore wind turbines will feed a further 700 megawatts into the grid in Germany.

Offshore wind turbines with a total capacity of 2,282.4 megawatts went on grid 2015. This demonstrates the capability of the German offshore wind industry and meets the expectations expressed at the beginning of 2015. This will however initially remain a unique record, as it is based on the catch-up effects of grid connection. The industry considers reliable, continuous expansion as a basis for more climate protection and value creation more important in the long term than any one-off records. To achieve such continuity it is necessary that the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) 2016 and the Offshore Grid Development Plan (O-NEP) 2025 are properly coordinated.

In the first half of 2015, another 422 offshore wind turbines, with a combined capacity of 1,765.3 megawatts went on line. Up to 30 June 2015 a total of 668 offshore turbines with an overall capacity of 2,777.8 megawatts fed power into the German grid. With the current offshore wind energy output the system can supply around three million households with power. Another 90 turbines with a total capacity of 380.7 megawatts are completely installed and due start feeding in soon. The foundations for another 84 turbines have already been erected. Hence the industry expects a total of around 2,250 megawatts of new offshore wind energy capacity to be feeding into the grid for the first time in 2015.

In this booklet published by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) you can learn more about offshore wind energy in Germany, ranging from the licencing process of offshore wind farms to possible job careers in the sector.

Andreas Wagner, Managing Director of the German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation: Offshore Wind Energy and Maritime Spatial Planning

The German market for offshore wind energy projects broke through the gigawatt barrier last year. By 31 December 2014, 258 offshore wind turbines in the German North and Baltic Seas with a total capacity of 1,049.2 megawatts fed into the grid. This figure was ascertained by Deutsche WindGuard on behalf of the four organisations VDMA Power Systems, the German Wind Energy Association (BWE), the Wind Energy Agency (WAB) andthe German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation (SOW).

This guidebook was published within the framework of the 4Power project. It contains technological, economic and political recommendations for the development of offshore wind energy in the various regions of Europe.

The present study was developed within the framework of the 4Power project and defines concrete fields of action at regional, national and European level to further promote offshore wind energy in Europe.