Wind Power Is Collapsing In Germany

New onshore wind energy is in a steep decline in Germany. The expansion of onshore wind power in the first half of this year is at its lowest level since the introduction of Germany's Renewable Energy Act in 2000. There were only 231 megawatts of new onshore wind capacity installed in Germany during the first half of 2019--an 82 percent decline compared to the first half of 2018. Wind Europe, the region's wind energy trade association, is expecting Germany to install between 1 gigawatt and 2 gigawatts of wind energy in 2019, which is significantly below the 4.3 gigawatts per year installed on average over the past 5 years. It is also well below what Germany needs to meet its target of 65 percent renewable electricity by 2030 as part of its energy transition, Energiewende. Germany gets 40 percent of its electricity from renewables today. The European Union is counting on Germany to attain its target so that it can meet its own 32 percent renewable energy target. Furthermore, offshore wind cannot fill the gap, as Germany is scheduled to build less than 15 percent of what is required--about 730 megawatts per year of offshore wind through to 2030.

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