Expansion record: wind power

Many Europeans like climate protection.

But when it becomes concrete and, for example, a wind turbine is to be built in one's own place of residence, then resistance from residents forms in many places.

At least this problem does not exist if the wind turbines are installed at sea instead of on land.

And this is where a growth spurt is emerging: in 2022, more new wind power plants will probably be put into operation off Europe's coasts than ever before.

The Norwegian analysis company Rystad Energy forecasts that offshore wind turbines with an output of 4.2 gigawatts will be connected to the grid by the end of the year.

That would be more than twice as much as in 2021, when only systems with a total of 1.8 gigawatts went into operation.

Not a single new offshore wind turbine was completed off the German North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts last year.

This autumn, RWE boss

wants to inaugurate his Kaskasi wind farm north of the North Sea island of Heligoland.

With an output of more than 300,000 kilowatts (0.3 gigawatts), the plant is expected to supply enough green electricity for 400,000 households.

has set tough expansion targets for the coming years

.

By 2030, the capacity of German offshore wind energy is expected to increase from almost 8 to 30 gigawatts.

For comparison: the Neckarwestheim nuclear power plant, which is to be shut down at the end of the year, has an output of 1.4 gigawatts.

Other countries are much more advanced than Germany when it comes to offshore wind power: Rystad analysts estimate that in Great Britain, which is one of the pioneers of offshore wind power and has a long coastline, almost ten times as many new turbines will be commissioned this year like in Germany.

The International Energy Agency predicts that offshore wind power plants could become the most important electricity supplier in Europe in the long term.