Renewable energy
Upward trend in the expansion of onshore wind turbines
In the first nine months of the year, authorities nationwide approved 976 new wind turbines. photo
© Patrick Pleul/dpa
There is a clear upward trend in the expansion of wind turbines on land: in particular, the number of newly approved systems is climbing.
According to preliminary figures, 518 new wind turbines with a total output of around 2.4 gigawatts went into operation in the first three quarters. According to the specialist agency, the value of the annual expansion from 2022 was already exceeded at the end of September.
Schleswig-Holstein as the frontrunner
Schleswig-Holstein was the frontrunner, with over a third of the so-called gross expansion taking place there since the beginning of the year. Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia follow in second and third place in the country ranking. According to the specialist agency, the only downside is the southern region. Only seven percent of this year’s new system output was installed there. Since the beginning of the year, only six new wind turbines have been connected to the grid in Bavaria, while in Baden-Württemberg there were 13.
Nationwide, 316 old systems have been shut down since January. The so-called net addition was 202 wind turbines. New wind turbines that go into operation are more powerful than old ones.
976 new wind turbines approved
The number of newly approved wind turbines by authorities has increased significantly. In the first nine months, 976 new wind turbines with a total output of 5.2 gigawatts were registered nationwide – an increase of 77 percent in terms of output. The specialist agency said that never before has so much wind energy output been approved from January to September as this year. The situation is particularly outstanding in North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein, where more than 1.1 gigawatts had each been approved by the end of September. In contrast, the share of the southern region is just under eight percent.
The approval of a wind turbine is considered a crucial hurdle. After that there is a tender, then the construction of a wind turbine, which can take many months.
Last year in particular, the federal government decided on extensive measures to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies from wind and sun. This plays a key role in achieving climate protection goals and decoupling from fossil energies such as coal and gas. The goal: 80 percent of the electricity consumed should come from renewable sources by 2030; currently it is just over half. The industry sees wind turbines on land as the driving force behind the energy transition, i.e. the replacement of fossil fuels from coal, gas and oil.