German Federal Council Shelves Offshore Wind Capacity Increase Talks

Germany’s Federal Council (Bundesrat) has removed from the agenda a motion for a capacity increase in the country’s 2030 and 2035 offshore wind capacity targets.

The initiative was put forward by the states of Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Hamburg and Lower Saxony.

It calls for the increase from the current target of 15GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030 to 20GW by 2030 and 30GW by 2035.

The motion also proposes further modernisation and expansion of transmission grids that transmit the offshore wind power to consumers.

The applicant states claim that with the current targets the offshore wind will remain well below its economic potential, and that the increase in the targets will bring numerous employment opportunities and will help the country meet its green energy targets.

The applicant states can re-submit the motion and put the initiative back on the plenary agenda, Bundesrat said.

At the end of 2017, Germany had 5,332MW of installed offshore wind capacity. The country’s offshore wind farms generated 15.97TWh of electricity, 47% more compared to 10.83TWh of electricity generated in 2016.