New onshore wind capacity in 2014 and 2015 averaged around 4 GW annually. After the upcoming change to the system was announced, power producers raced to complete projects in time to benefit from the old system, and Germany gained 9 GW’s worth of new turbines in 2016. Following the switch to auctions in 2017, expansion has fallen to less than 1.5 GW per year, threatening the survival of German turbine manufacturers, many of which have only survived by relying heavily on exports, BWE says.

According to WindEurope, a toal of 4.9 GW onshore and offshore wind power capacity were installed in Europe in the first half of 2019. Around the world, nearly 60 GW of new wind turbines are expected to go online in 2019. The German sector would like to see new domestic capacity reach 1.5 GW this year, but Zelinger says even that would account for just 2.5 percent of the global market. “We’re definitely no longer racing ahead of anyone here,” he added. “We can -- and must -- get back on track to meet the 2030 climate target,” Zelinger said, calling for the government to create conditions now for the sector to flourish over the coming decade.

Zelinger said German manufacturers were still at the forefront of wind power technology, and most were committed to keeping production at home, “but we need to set the conditions”. That, he said, came down purely to political will, as industry players blame the slow-down on regulatory hurdles.



Construction of some 2,000 turbines with a combined capacity of around 11 GW is currently on hold due to licensing problems. These are mostly to do with mandatory minimum distances from residential areas and aviation infrastructure, or as a result of lawsuits brought by residential and environmental groups. “A lack of space and licenses is what is holding us back right now,” BWE head Hermann Albers said.

To meet climate targets, the wind power association says Germany needs an average of 4.7 GW of new onshore wind power capacity each year from now until 2050, when the country aims to go carbon-neutral. Yet Albers says new technology means the additional capacity doesn’t mean vast numbers of new turbines littering the landscape, as aging models are replaced with new, more efficient ones -- a process known as “repowering”.

