Germany expects to add 900 MW of offshore wind capacity in 2017

According to German wind industry groups, 108 new offshore wind projects with a combined capacity of 626 MW were connected to the power grids in Germany in the first half of 2017, raising the country's offshore wind capacity to 4.7 GW. Installations could reach 900 MW by the end of the year, exceeding the 818 MW added in 2016 and raising Germany's offshore wind capacity to 5 GW. This expansion rate would enable Germany to beat the government target of 6,500 MW by 2020.



In April 2017, the energy network regulator Bundesnetzagentur approved 1,490 MW of offshore wind capacity to be built in the German North Sea by the middle of the next decade. EnBW won the lion's share in the first offshore wind competitive auction (April 2017), with the "He Dreiht" 900 MW project. Dong Energy won three offshore wind projects with a total capacity of 590 MW: the 240 MW OWP West, the 240 MW Borkum Riffgrund West 2 and the 110 MW Gode Wind 3 wind parks. The selected projects are scheduled to go into operation after 31 December 2020.