The research by Prognos and The Fichtner Group found that if Germany constructs at least 9GW by 2023, the cost of wind energy can be reduced by about one third.
"This is the way to gain project experience, to promote technological innovation and to significantly decrease costs," said Jens Eckhoff, president of the German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation, which funded the study.
"Offshore wind power has a substantial cost reduction potential. However, the industry can only exploit this potential if there are reliable framework conditions to achieve significant market volumes."
The study was commissioned by the German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation together with RWE Innogy and other companies and associations of the offshore wind industry.
Two development scenarios were applied to evaluate three typical German sites for offshore wind farms.
The first assumed a stable market development and describes the development of at least 9GW installed capacity in Germany by the year 2023. In this scenario, the cost of offshore wind power decreases on average by about 31% across all sites until 2023.
The second assumed an optimum market environment with a development of 14GW until 2023. In this case, costs could decrease by up to 39%, the study claims.
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