Key Takeaways

• The increasingly visible and often dramatic impacts of climate change within Europe and Germany require an acceleration of the decarbonization of all sectors, including electricity.

• The share of conventional generation technologies in the European and German electricity mix is still high but shall be reduced significantly.

• The new German coalition has set unprecedented target levels for this technological transition path; far above the European average.

Key Takeaways

• The German government sets the target of covering 80% of Germany's electricity consumption with renew-able energies as early as 2030 and aims to increase this share to 100% by 2038.

• Onshore wind shall remain the most important source for electricity production in 2035, covering almost 40% of generation (equivalent to ca. 330 TWh or ca. three times the level reached in 2022).

• Over the next 13 years, onshore wind generation will have to increase by 10% annually.

Key Takeaways

• The German onshore wind installation targets for the years until 2030 are more than three times as high as the historical extension since 2010. Installed capacity is set to double and reach 115 GW by 2030.

• In terms of the average daily installed wind turbines, this means an addition of 5.8 wind turbines in the next years compared to 3.5 turbines per day during 2010 – 2021.

• This ambitious planned expansion is likely to be a major undertaking and raises the question of whether and how these goals can be achieved. In fact, the onshore wind expansion would have to be even faster than ever before.

Key Takeaways

• To achieve the government's ambitious 2030 target for onshore wind energy, all previous hurdles must be removed, and processes accelerated.

• The streamlining of permitting processes is now being addressed at federal level, but still needs to be implemented at state level.

• Multiple challenges, such as, for example, the shortage of specialists and disrupted supply chains (see following slides), will also need to be tackled urgently, in order to avoid bottlenecks in the years ahead.

Key Takeaways

• If not rejected during permitting, projects can still be delayed by months or years if any of the permitting decisions are appealed against.

• Significant differences between states highlight a lack of a standardized approach across Germany.

• Clarifying and reducing the scope of the EIA and clarifying wind turbine assessment criteria should be prioritized.

• If approved by parliament, a step towards more simplified assessments than the EIA has the potential to accelerate parts of the permitting process.

Key Takeaways

• The search for employees poses major challenges for companies in all areas of the value chain and threatens to delay the expansion of wind energy

• The current situation is also a direct consequence of misguided policies in recent years: Ten of thousands of jobs have been lost in the industry since 2016.

• According to a recent study, three times as many new jobs will be needed in the onshore wind industry by 2030.

• The areas of planning, technology and operations are expected to require the most staff.

Key Takeaways

• The market for onshore wind turbines is highly concentrated with just four companies supplying > 90%.

• Many equipment suppliers are wobbling due to cost inflation, supply chain disruptions and squeezed margins.

• Several local production facilities have closed or been moved abroad, instead of expanding capacity and output.

• Supply-chain problems may cause severe bottlenecks, thus putting a break on the onshore wind expansion.

Key Takeaways

• Due to the existing price pressure, there is a possibility that Chinese WTGs will soon be used in German projects.

• The use of Chinese technology is also becoming increasingly likely in view of manufacturing capacities and rising demand.

• China plays a monopolistic role in supplying rare earths for the production of permanent magnets, the key components for the wind turbine generator.

• In Germany, the last plant for the production of rotor blades was closed last year. However, at the same time, more and more Chinese suppliers are entering the European market.