Wind industry continues to suffer from planning uncertainty

Energy - Wind industry continues to suffer from planning uncertainty

The wind industry in Schleswig-Holstein is pleased about the very good expansion and approval figures in 2023. Schleswig-Holstein is in first and second place in a state comparison with over one gigawatt of gross installed and approved wind turbines, said Marcus Hrach, Managing Director of the State Association for Renewable Energies. Although it should be noted that many other federal states are only expanding very slowly, "it also shows that politicians and the industry can make rapid progress with the energy transition together".

According to figures from the Ministry of Energy Transition from the end of December, more than 230 new wind turbines were connected to the grid in Schleswig-Holstein in 2023. The 232 new turbines have a total output of 1.2 gigawatts. By comparison, the Brokdorf nuclear power plant, which was decommissioned at the end of 2021, had an output of around 1.4 gigawatts. In addition, 221 wind turbines with a capacity of 1.16 gigawatts were newly approved in Schleswig-Holstein last year.

Association: Bringing forward important changes

In December, the black-green state government also decided to significantly increase the expansion of wind power in the state - as already announced in the coalition agreement. The CDU and Greens want to increase the installed wind power capacity on land to 15 gigawatts. To this end, three percent of the state's land area is to be earmarked for wind turbines in future instead of two percent.

According to the association, important changes to the new planning should be brought forward. Earlier "repowering" outside of designated priority areas could bridge the period until the legally binding designation of new areas.

Otherwise, the end of the positive approval figures is foreseeable "and it is to be feared that the brief boom will be followed by another phase of stagnation if the state does not take countermeasures", said Hrach. According to him, the goal of climate neutrality proclaimed by the state will not be achievable if it is not possible to ensure long-term continuity in the expansion of renewable energies.

Industry continues to suffer from planning uncertainty

Overall, the industry continues to suffer from planning uncertainty due to various aspects, as Hrach emphasized. "On the one hand, this includes the long delays in the legislative process for important changes to the EEG." The fact that the Federal Network Agency only announced the new maximum value for tenders for 2024 in mid-December is also regrettable. "The industry would have needed much more lead time here."

The significant price and interest rate increases and the resulting financing difficulties are also causing problems for the industry. "In addition, there are still problems with the transportation of wind turbines and turbine components," said Hrach. In general, it often remains a challenge to meet the implementation deadlines for the awards from the wind tenders due to supply bottlenecks.

Hrach promotes community opening clause

Hrach emphasized that "in view of the fact that Schleswig-Holstein wants to become the first climate-neutral industrial state, it would be urgently necessary to use all means of acceleration provided by the federal government." For example, the state should make use of the possibilities created by the federal legislator in the so-called municipal opening clause for the municipal designation of additional wind suitability areas and not restrict them. "Many municipalities want to finally become part of the energy transition themselves or contribute even more than they were previously allowed to," said Hrach. "As a pioneering state with the goal of becoming the first climate-neutral federal state, it would be negligent to restrict this now."