Berlin (Reuters) - The construction of new wind turbines is gaining momentum again after years in the doldrums. Last year, 745 new turbines with a capacity of over 3,500 megawatts were built on land, according to the German Wind Energy Association (BWE) on Tuesday. However, the demolition of wind turbines with a good 500 megawatts must also be taken into account. Nevertheless, this is more than the association recently predicted. In addition, over 7500 megawatts of capacity were approved in 2023. The association therefore assumes that over 4,000 megawatts could be installed in 2024. Nevertheless, onshore wind energy is still lagging behind its targets despite the removal of numerous hurdles by the traffic light government. The government target for 2023 was six gigawatts, for 2024 it is eight gigawatts. Germany aims to cover around 80 percent of its total electricity requirements from renewable energies by 2030.

There are now almost 29,000 onshore wind turbines in Germany with an output of 61 gigawatts. The figure for solar energy is over 80 gigawatts, although the systems ultimately produce less electricity than wind turbines. The construction of solar fields reached a new record in 2023, exceeding the government's targets.

BWE President Bärbel Heidebroek warned that, in view of the remaining gap to the government's targets, the decisions of the traffic light coalition to reduce barriers must have consequences: "These decisions must now be passed into law as quickly as possible, preferably in the first quarter of this year." The main aim is to speed up transport permits for the ever larger wind turbines by road and rail. Heidebroek also pointed out that significantly less is still being built in southern Germany than in the north. This must change.

The mechanical engineering association VDMA-Powersystems explained that the upward trend was positive. However, it pointed to the growing competition among manufacturers: "German and European manufacturers find themselves in unequal competition with largely state-supported companies from China and generously subsidized players from the USA via the Inflation Reduction Act." There must be criteria at European level to protect the industry from unfair competition.

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) already wants to introduce tendering criteria for the solar industry that will protect the remaining German and European manufacturers and, in the best-case scenario, enable the industry to revive. While the solar industry has long been dominated by Chinese producers, the wind industry is still dominated by German and European manufacturers. However, here too it is mainly Chinese suppliers who are trying to enter the market.

(Report by: Markus Wacket; edited by Sabine Ehrhardt If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)