The German Offshore Wind Energy Association (BWO) is calling on the new German government to maintain the industry’s current expansion targets.
The fixed auction volumes up to 2030 should not be changed, nor should the target of 40 GW by 2035. Stable framework conditions are the only way to achieve these targets.
“Anyone who wants cost-efficient energy supply security as well as industrial value creation and climate protection must invest in grids, ports and production capacities now,” says Irina Lucke, Chairwoman of the BWO. “Many companies in Europe are willing to invest massively – but they need clear expansion paths.
Among other things, a reliable framework for investments is necessary. The association advocates bilateral contracts for difference (CfD) as a remuneration model alongside long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs). The German government should set up a special program under the joint task “Improvement of the regional economic structure” (GRW) to finance port expansion. Such a GRW special program “Ports for the energy transition” could also be financed from offshore wind auction revenues, for example.
“We need stable political framework conditions – no more back and forth with expansion targets in legislative cycles,” says BWO Managing Director Stefan Thimm. “Only if the government stays on course can offshore wind trigger billions in investments in production, logistics and grid infrastructure in Europe.”
Almost 30 GW still missing by 2035
In 2024, 31 offshore wind farms with a total of 1,639 turbines and a capacity of 9.2 GW were in operation in Germany – 7.4 GW of which in the North Sea and 1.8 GW in the Baltic Sea. Last year, a total of 73 new turbines with a total capacity of 742 MW were added.
Two further wind farms, Borkum Riffgrund 3 and He Dreiht, each with 900 MW, are due to be connected to the grid in 2025. In He Dreiht, 15 megawatt turbines will be installed for the first time in Germany. With these installations, the expansion is taking a further step towards the targets, although there is still a shortfall of almost 30 GW or 3 GW per year by 2035.
The German Offshore Wind Energy Association (BWO) is organizing the “Future Offshore 2025” conference in Berlin on 21 and 22 May 2025. Over 300 guests, more than 50 panelists and representatives of political and international institutions from Germany, Belgium, the UK, Norway and Sweden will take part. The event is the largest German-language specialist conference on offshore wind energy and serves as a central exchange platform for companies, science, administration and politics. A special highlight this year is the ceremony to mark the 15th anniversary of offshore wind energy in Germany: in 2010, the Alpha Ventus test field (12 turbines with a total of 60 MW) was the first offshore wind farm to be connected to the grid.
Accompanying the conference, the new BWO study on the behavior of harbor porpoises during the operating phase of offshore wind farms in the North Sea will be presented. The study sheds light on the behavior of the animals in and around offshore wind farms and the development of their population in the German Bight. The study shows that offshore wind farms are used by the marine mammals as a preferred habitat and that the harbor porpoise population in the North Sea has remained largely stable over the 13-year study period.
