The expansion of onshore wind power in Germany is faltering. According to the German Wind Energy Association, 99 wind turbines with an output of 407 megawatts went online in the first quarter – 23 percent less than in the same quarter of the previous year. Because old plants were also shut down, the net increase in installed capacity was 355 megawatts.
In Bavaria, the largest state in terms of area, which has the strictest rules in Germany on the distance between wind turbines and residential buildings, no new wind turbines were connected to the grid at all.
The German government now wants to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies with a comprehensive package of measures. The distance rules could possibly be relaxed.
Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has the goal that two percent of the land area in Germany will be designated for wind energy in the future – this has not been achieved in most countries by a long shot.
