Status: 12/20/2022 3:24 p.m
The federal government has set itself the goal of massive expansion of wind power in particular. As current figures from the Federal Network Agency show, there are significantly fewer investors for wind power projects than hoped.
The expansion of new wind and solar power plants is not gaining momentum in Germany. Due to a lack of projects, the Federal Network Agency has halved the number of tenders for new wind farms, as the authority announced today.
After the tender volume was originally 1.2 terawatts of power, it is now only 0.6 terawatts. According to the Federal Network Agency in its announcement, there was an “impending signing” of the original order volume.
Investment not lucrative enough?
According to experts, slow approval procedures, but also increased investment costs, partly due to the rise in interest rates, are the main reasons for the unwillingness of companies in the industry to invest. Since the energy sector will probably miss its climate targets for the first time this year, expansion is all the more urgent.
The federal government has set the goal of doubling electricity from renewable energies by 2030. The corresponding “wind on land” law, which will come into force on February 1, 2023, is intended to help with this. Planning and approval procedures for wind power are to be accelerated and the corresponding areas made available.
Tenders provide maximum prices
The expansion of wind or solar power is essentially regulated by tenders. Those who demand the lowest subsidies – ie the lowest guaranteed purchase price for their electricity – will be awarded the contract. However, the network agency must also set a maximum price here in order to prevent extremely expensive projects. For wind energy, there were too few applications for the third time in a row.
The German Wind Energy Association (BWE) was not surprised by the results of the tender: “The fact that the reduced volume could not be filled makes the pressure to act to adjust the maximum values all too clear,” said BWE President Hermann Albers.
As part of the electricity price brake, the Bundestag had decided in view of the cost increases that the maximum price can now be increased by up to 25 percent. The network agency announced that it would act quickly in this regard.