Federal Office: Unsolved problems in the expansion of wind power

Created: 2022-01-20Updated: 2022-01-20 13:46

Wind turbines behind a field.

© Roland Weihrauch/dpa/Symbolbild

From the point of view of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), the planned expansion of wind power in the North and Baltic Seas encounters numerous unsolved problems.

"It will be a Herculean task," said BSH President Karin Kammann-Klippstein on Thursday in Hamburg.

When asked whether the planned expansion to 70 gigawatts (GW) by 2045 was even conceivable, she said:

Hamburg - "Yes, it's possible if all other users step back and say, 'we only do offshore wind energy in the North and Baltic Seas', then it's theoretically possible."

The head of the supreme maritime authority pointed out numerous conflicts of use: "The coalition agreement provides for 10 percent of the area to be free of any harmful type of use. 10 percent would be completely reserved for nature reserves.” In addition, sea areas are used by agriculture and the military, and there is an obligation under international law to keep international shipping lanes open. "There are restrictions on the development of wind farms."

There will have to be coordination with the existing users "until these expansion targets of up to 70 GW can actually be achieved," said Kammann-Klippstein.

“There will still be numerous discussions within the federal government as to what has priority now, who has to put their interests aside.

These are political decisions that have to be made.”

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Along with onshore wind and solar energy, offshore wind is a central pillar in the expansion of green electricity.

In the coalition agreement, the new government made up of SPD, Greens and FDP has significantly increased the expansion targets for offshore wind energy compared to the previous government.

Instead of 20 GW by 2030 and 40 GW by 2040, it should now be 30 GW by 2030, 40 GW by 2035 and 70 GW by 2045.

There are currently 1,501 wind turbines with almost 7.8 GW in operation in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, mostly in offshore areas in the so-called exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which Germany is allowed to use exclusively in international waters.

Based on the latest preliminary drafts of the area development plan for the AWZ, the BSH considers a potential total output of around 43 GW to be possible.

dpa