Approvals for new wind turbines are increasing – except in Bavaria
According to the German Wind Energy Association, approvals for new wind turbines increased significantly in the past quarter. This is essential for the energy transition.
Only a few days separate us from the end of nuclear power in Germany. With the shutdown of the last reactor, an era of energy supply ends in this country. Ultimately, however, the question remains open as to whether other energy sources can efficiently close the gap. Because if we cover the missing capacities with electricity from coal, the sustainability aspect is quickly gone.
It is therefore all the more important to rapidly expand solar and wind power capacities. Despite this, the construction of new wind turbines has not seemed to be progressing particularly well in recent years. That changed according to the German Wind Energy Association in the first quarter of 2023 though.
Approvals for new wind turbines reach a new high
The press report of the onshore wind energy agency makes it clear that significantly more capacity was connected to the grid in January, February and March 2023 than in the previous year. 117 new wind turbines thus supply an additional 546 megawatts for the German power grid. If you compare that with the previous year, the yield is about 17 percent higher.
And that’s not all. So far, not all figures are available for the first three months. That means the value could go up even further. If we look at the permits, 295 systems with a total output of 1.65 gigawatts were given the green light. If you compare this again with the previous year, the authorities approved around 38 percent more wind turbines.
Wind energy: Southern Germany has some catching up to do
Nevertheless, the construction process continues to be a hurdle. According to the German Wind Energy Association, it takes about 20 months from the first application to the commissioning of a system. That’s almost two years for a single wind turbine. Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg were particularly negative when it came to expansion.
Both federal states accounted for only 7.8 percent of the new systems. Just 4.5 percent of all permits came from the two southern German states. Expressed in concrete figures, Baden-Württemberg only approved one plant, Bavaria only two. In contrast, North Rhine-Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony remain champions when it comes to expansion.
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