© Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; data from WindEurope
Investment in renewable energy remains high
Most wind turbines transforming wind power into electricity in the seas of Europe are located in the North Sea. According to figures provided by the industry association WindEurope, the turbines erected here account for around 72 per cent of installed offshore wind capacity in Europe. Well behind in second place is the Irish Sea with around 16 per cent, and in third the Baltic Sea, with around 12 per cent. Offshore wind farms are operated by ten different countries, including the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany. The combined installed capacity of all offshore wind farms in Europe is more than 13 gigawatts (GW). This means that Europe is paving the way forward for the world.
German wind farms always located a long distance from the coast
By the end of 2016, a total of 12.63 GW was connected to the European electricity grid, of which 4.1 GW came from Germany. Connecting offshore wind farms to the grid is a huge challenge in general, but especially in Germany. This is because the vast majority of offshore projects in German waters are planned and built a long distance from the coast in order to protect nature and the environment, and to preserve views. In order to feed electricity produced on the high seas into the transmission grid and deliver it to the end consumer, submarine cables are needed to transport substantial volumes of electricity over distances of 100 kilometres or more.
The Federal Government is striving to achieve volumes of 6.5 GW by 2020 and 15 GW by 2030. These expansion targets are laid down in the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG). At an offshore conference held in the past week, Germany affirmed its intention to expand offshore wind energy considerably.