German Offshore Wind Production Increases by 26.5% in 2019

Wind farms operating offshore Germany generated 24.16 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 2019, an increase of 26.5% compared to 19.1TWh of electricity generated offshore in 2018.

Wind farms in the North Sea generated 20.21TWh of electricity in 2019, a 20.7% increase compared to 2018 when 16.75TWh of power was generated by North Sea wind farms, TenneT said. The maximum infeed performance of North Sea offshore wind farms reached 6,077MW on 5 December 2019.

The wind farms in the Baltic Sea produced 3.95 TWh of power in 2019, a 68% increase compared to 2.35TWh of electricity produced in the Baltic Sea in 2018, mainly due to additional operating capacity through the commissioning of the 350MW Wikinger and the 385MW Arkona offshore wind farms.

With the recent commissioning of the 900MW BorWin3 platform, TenneT now operates twelve offshore grid connection systems in the North Sea with a total capacity of 7,132MW. At the end of 2018, TenneT operated eleven offshore grid connection systems with a joint capacity of 6,232MW.

The North Sea capacity alone exceeds the German government’s 6.5GW 2020 target for the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

“We are pleased that we have already achieved the goal set by the federal government ahead of schedule,” said TenneT Managing Director Tim Meyerjürgens.

“And with the three other offshore grid connections currently being implemented, we will be capable of delivering 10,000 megawatts of transmission capacity from the North Sea in 2025 in Germany alone. We are pushing ahead with grid expansion on land just as rigorously, because this holistic approach is the key to a successful energy transition.”