German offshore wind output rises in H1 2020

German offshore wind production rose 17.9% in the first six months of the year, with generation increases recorded in both the North Sea and Baltic Sea.

by Craig Richard 27 July 2020

Tennet currently has the capacity connect 7,132MW of offshore wind in German waters

Transmission system operator (TSO) Tennet transferred 11.51TWh from the German North Sea between January and June 2020 - up 21.1% year on year.

Meanwhile, 50Hertz transmitted 2.2TWh of wind power from the German Baltic Sea in H1 2020 - up 3.2% from the previous year.

Offshore wind capacity in German waters rose from 6,765MW at the end of June 2019 to 7,760MW one year later, according to “uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç Intelligence, the research and data division of “uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç.

The two TSOs’ figures suggest that offshore wind accounted for 18.5% of total German wind generation in the first half of 2020 (73.7TWh). Tennet reported that onshore wind generated 59.67TWh in the first six months of the year. Provisional figures had initially suggested 75.06TWh of wind power was generated between January and June 2020.

Tennet added that it is working to develop a standardised cable system to use until 2030 - at BalWin 1, BalWin 2 and BalWin 3 in the German North Sea, and at IJmuiden Ver Alpha and Beta in the Dutch North Sea - as well as in future projects with the same power and voltage. This will lower costs, strengthen security of supply and minimise environmental impacts, it explained.

It plans to invest around €20 billion by 2030 in connecting German and Dutch offshore wind.

The TSO can currently connect 7,132MW off Germany and will reach 1.4GW off the Netherlands in mid-August. By 2030, it projects it will be able to connect around 17GW off Germany, and 9.6GW off the Netherlands.