German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expresses optimism about the progression of the country’s energy transition, despite facing budgetary constraints, bureaucratic hurdles, and a sense of despondency in certain segments of German society. Speaking in Potsdam last Monday, Scholz emphasized the ambitious goal of breaking away from a 200-year-old industrial tradition reliant on coal, gas, and oil.
Currently, approximately 30% of Germany’s electricity is still generated from coal and gas, with wind turbines contributing almost half of the country’s power. The government aims to achieve fully climate-neutral electricity production by establishing large wind farms in the North and Baltic Seas.
As of now, around 1,500 turbines, reaching up to 300 meters in height, have been installed at sea, supplying approximately 8.5 gigawatts of electricity. The plan is to increase this output to 30 gigawatts by 2030. However, industry representatives caution that quadrupling wind turbine power generation in just six years could be challenging.
According to the German Wind Energy Association, only 27 new wind turbines were connected to the power grid in 2023, prompting concerns about meeting statutory expansion targets by 2030. The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency warned of potential delays in establishing North Sea grid connections due to converter construction bottlenecks.
Stefan Thimm, head of Germany’s Federal Association of Offshore Wind Energy, highlighted the critical role of seaports in addressing infrastructure challenges, stating that they are essential for construction, maintenance, and storage of wind farms.
Despite Germany’s commitment to offshore wind energy, it lags behind neighboring countries like the Netherlands and Denmark in developing wind infrastructure. Competition in the industry is intense, with converter construction companies in high demand.
Greenpeace criticized the government’s priorities, urging a focus on offshore wind farms rather than investing in liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. The organization’s energy and climate expert, Martin Kaiser, called attention to Germany’s failure to meet renewable energy targets due to insufficient converter stations and misplaced priorities.
While the government faces financial constraints for expanding the offshore wind sector, Economy Minister Robert Habeck proposed establishing a special fund, similar to the armed forces fund, to support the sector. However, this proposal was promptly rejected by both the opposition and coalition partner, the neoliberal Free Democrats.