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Düsseldorf (dpa) - According to a new study, more powerful wind turbines could double the amount of electricity generated on the areas already in use in Germany by 2030.

The study presented on Monday by the State Association of Renewable Energies in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Federal Association of Wind Energy assumes a sustained trend towards ever larger wind turbines.

The technical advancement also makes it possible to use the systems with more full load hours and thus continuously generate more electricity.

The use of modern wind turbines could generate over 200 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity in 2030, emphasize the authors of the study carried out by Deutsche Windguard.

If the total area for wind turbines is doubled to 2 percent of the federal territory, generation could even be increased to 500 TWh.

If the electricity from offshore wind turbines is added, the entire German electricity consumption could be met with wind energy.

The current demand is around 530 TWh per year, but will increase in the future.

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New wind turbines have grown steadily in recent years.

While the systems commissioned in 2000 had an average total height of around 100 meters, according to studies there are now bikes with a height of over 200 meters.

The further a wind turbine rises up, the more wind its rotor blades absorb.

Because of the lower wind speeds in the south, the wind turbines installed there are on average significantly higher than in northern Germany, for example.

The construction of particularly tall wind turbines regularly meets with protests from residents.

One point of criticism is the shadow cast by the rotor blades.

"Modern wind turbines produce around 10 times as much electricity today as those built at the turn of the millennium," said the managing director of LEE NRW Christian Mildenberger, managing director of LEE NRW.

The wind turbine manufacturers are currently working on a new class of turbines with an output of over seven megawatts.

The largest plants are currently conducting around 5 megawatts.

This development must “also be better reflected in potential studies by the federal and state governments”.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201123-99-432931 / 2