Germany inaugurates its largest offshore wind farm He Dreiht in the North Sea

Germany inaugurated its largest offshore wind farm in the North Sea on Thursday, as the sector worries about a slowdown in its growth. 90 kilometers north of the island of Borkum, close to the Netherlands, this park made up of 64 wind turbines, with a total power of 960 megawatts (MW), is “one of the most important European projects in the energy transition”, assures its operator EnBW. Initially planned for March, the commissioning of this park called “He Dreiht” (“it turns” in the “Platt” or Low German dialect, spoken in the north of the country) was postponed by a few months, after an incident noted on a wind turbine blade in July. “He Dreiht” can cover the annual electricity consumption of around 1.1 million homes, assures its operator EnBW, which invested 2.4 billion euros in the project.

“You invested in this wind farm with a clear vision [...] while the market environment is currently not simple,” greeted Carsten Schneider, Social Democratic Minister of the Environment, in a speech from Hamburg. This inauguration comes in a context of great uncertainty for the sector, between the crusade led by Donald Trump against wind power and the change of energy course set by Berlin.

Also read In Normandy, the UNESCO classification of the D-Day beaches revives the battle against wind turbines

Skip the ad

The objective of tripling Germany's offshore capacity by 2030 maintained

Conservative Economy Minister Katherina Reiche presented a bill enacting vast cuts in subsidies for solar and wind energy, denouncing the uncontrolled and costly expansion of recent years. This project studied in Parliament at the end of September can be “further improved”, nuanced Carsten Schneider, regularly in conflict with Katherina Reiche on energy issues.

The minister favors the construction of new gas power stations to stabilize the electricity network. The objective of tripling Germany's offshore capacity, to 30 GW, by 2030, is maintained, Carsten Schneider wanted to reassure. Thursday September 17, EnBW Managing Director Georg Stamatelopoulos nevertheless pointed out “the cost increases, supply chain problems and especially the regulatory conditions” which are weighing on the sector.

The reform desired by the coalition adds uncertainty to projects under construction in Germany, with a total capacity of 16 GW according to him. “Do we just want to ignore these projects or let them drag on?” he denounced. He Dreiht is the first wind farm not to receive a subsidy from the German state for the electricity it will feed into the grid. EnBW instead relies on “PPAs”, long-term purchasing contracts concluded with companies, including the operator of Frankfurt airport and the automobile supplier Bosch. This allows operators to benefit from “predictable revenues” and customers to “protect themselves against price developments on the market”, assures EnBW.