Germany Expects 900 MW of New Offshore Wind in 2017
From The New York Times
FRANKFURT — Germany connected 626 megawatts (MW) of newly built offshore wind capacity to power grids in the first six months of this year and expects to see total installations of 900 MW in the full year, five industry groups said in a joint statement on Thursday.
The installed total is now 4,729 MW and if 900 MW were achieved, it would exceed the 818 MW added in 2016. The rate of expansion could mean the industry will beat government targets of 6,500 MW for 2020, they said.
The wind power industry is moving away from an era of costly subsidies and is trying to become more commercially viable and to bring down costs for consumers.
The industry groups said that latest bids by companies to build and run turbines at zero subsidy costs in the next decade offered encouragement and reason to expand.
“This paradigm shift offers the next government chances to lift expansion targets to at least 20 gigawatts (20,000 MW) up to 2030 and at least 30 GW to 2035, utilising the economic and industrial political potential of offshore wind,” they said.