Germany Smashes Offshore Wind Power Production Record

German offshore wind farms are expected to generate 13 billion kWh of electricity in 2016, a 57 percent jump compared to 8.3 billion kWh generated by wind farms off Germany in 2015.

The estimate was released by the country’s Federal Association for Energy and Water Management (BDEW) and the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW).

The rise in the offshore wind power generation can be attributed to the new capacity grid-connected in 2015 which has reached full production capacity in 2016.

Germany connected 546 offshore wind turbines with a total capacity of 2,282.4 megawatts to the grid in 2015. The total number of turbines connected to Germany’s grid by 31 December 2015 was 792, with a combined capacity of 3,294.9 megawatts.

Overall, renewable energy sources are expected to cover 32 percent of gross electricity consumption in Germany in 2016.

Germany is expected to produce over 191 billion kWh of electricity from sun, wind and other regenerative sources by the end of the year, a slight increase compared to the previous year. In 2015, just over 187 billion kWh was generated through renewable energy sources, or 31.5 percent of gross electricity consumption for the year.

Germany plans to increase the share of renewable energy in gross electricity consumption to 35 percent by 2020.

Prof. Dr. Frithjof Staiss, Managing Director of the ZSW, said: “The current figures show that the energy turnaround in the area of ​​sustainable electricity generation is still on the right track. However, urgent action is needed in other areas. The consumption of fossil fuels, in particular, is still too high, particularly for transport, and the emission of greenhouse gases is therefore a part of this. In order to achieve the climate protection targets and a successful transformation of the entire energy system, politics, the economy and society must therefore show more determination. “