According to the German wind power industry group Bundesverband WindEnergie (BWE), 1,626 MW of wind onshore capacity were installed in the country during the first six months of 2018. This figure is 29% down compared with the same period of 2017 due to a lack of assurance from domestic policy makers that enough new capacity would be tendered in the next years. So far, the total installed capacity stands at 52,282 MW and onshore wind power accounted for nearly 15% of the German power generation between January and June 2018.
2017 was a record year for wind installations but constructions of new onshore wind parks are expected to decline in 2018 and beyond. Based on wind installations in the first half of 2018, 3,300 MW to 3,500 MW are expected for the whole year. At the end of May 2018, projects with a volume of 4,261 MW were approved of which about 1,900 MW had received a permit before January 2017 but did not opt for the tender system and can therefore be implemented under the framework of the previous FiT system.
Germany is shifting from a subsidy-based system to an auction-based one. Since the beginning of 2017, solar and wind power projects over 750 kW have to compete in tenders in order to secure power purchase deals, as feed-in tariff (FiT) contracts are no longer available. However, projects that were approved in 2016 are still eligible.