"Is that ail?" Many might certainly ask the question given an
installed wind power output of 36,000 mégawatts on land
throughout Germany. "1,000 MW ail the same!” This reaction, too,
is understandable. The exploitation of wind power at sea has so
far been anything but a compelling success story; rather it has
been a case of constantly adjusting between desire and reality.
The launch of the offshore wind âge in Germany had certainly
started auspiciously. The fédéral government of the day mapped
out its course for the first time in January 2002 with the publication of its own strategy paper in which it outlined how it foresaw
the expansion of wind power in the North Sea and the Baltic.
According to these plans, there was to be a minimum of 500 mégawatts on stream by 2006, and in the medium term, i.e. by 2010
offshore wind power output was to reach a capacity of 2,000 to
3,000 mégawatts. 20 years later, the strategy paper provided for
an output of between 20,000 and 25,000 mégawatts. Measured
against the référencé year of 1998, "such exploitation of wind
power at sea" would correspond to "15 percent of power consumption", it States in the 26-page paper.
With its strategy paper, the government was responding to a development that was gathering pace at the time in the wind sector. It seemed to be merely a question of a few years until the
exploitation of wind power at sea became an important cornerstone of national energy provision: In January 2002 there were
already 22 applications for the approval of an offshore wind farm
in the Exclusive Economie Zone [EEZ] in the North Sea and 7 for
the Baltic. A few weeks earlier, the initiators of the Borkum West
project had received official approval for the first offshore wind
farm in Germany. The Fédéral Maritime and Hydrographie Agency
of Germany [BSH] had approved the test field with twelve wind
turbines that was later to be christened alpha ventus. A good year
later, the BSH then gave the green light to the Butendiek citizens'
wind farm.
The next step for the exploitation of wind power really seemed
imminent. In those days, wind power was experiencing an upturn
never seen before. The [financial] conditions for the promotion
and exploitation of almost ail renewable energies improved when
the new Renewable Energies Act [EEG] replaced the previous Grid
Feed-in Act in February 2000.
OFFSHORE WIND POWER SEEMED TO BE ON ITS WAY TO BECOMING AN INDISPENSABLE ELEMENT OF GERMAN ELECTRICITY
SUPPLIES.
And there was good reason for this figure: Wind farms on the high
seas were to replace a not inconsiderable share of the nuclear
power capacity that would be phased out by 2023. This was the
underlying rationale of the then red-green fédéral government.
In 2002, the fédéral government had agreed a staged exit plan
with the nuclear power plant operators. Nuclear power génération
would hâve then corne to an end here in 2023.
One exception was offshore wind power for which the EEG rémunération rates remained unchanged until 2009. That is one of
the reasons why the mood of optimism regarding offshore wind
power steadily abated.
It took a further seven years after the BSH approval for Butendiek
until the first twelve German offshore wind turbines were actually
standing in the North Sea. On November 22, 2009, the construction crew in the alpha ventus test field were able to report: today
the twelfth and therefore last turbine in the first German offshore
wind farm was erected.
170
installed wind power output of 36,000 mégawatts on land
throughout Germany. "1,000 MW ail the same!” This reaction, too,
is understandable. The exploitation of wind power at sea has so
far been anything but a compelling success story; rather it has
been a case of constantly adjusting between desire and reality.
The launch of the offshore wind âge in Germany had certainly
started auspiciously. The fédéral government of the day mapped
out its course for the first time in January 2002 with the publication of its own strategy paper in which it outlined how it foresaw
the expansion of wind power in the North Sea and the Baltic.
According to these plans, there was to be a minimum of 500 mégawatts on stream by 2006, and in the medium term, i.e. by 2010
offshore wind power output was to reach a capacity of 2,000 to
3,000 mégawatts. 20 years later, the strategy paper provided for
an output of between 20,000 and 25,000 mégawatts. Measured
against the référencé year of 1998, "such exploitation of wind
power at sea" would correspond to "15 percent of power consumption", it States in the 26-page paper.
With its strategy paper, the government was responding to a development that was gathering pace at the time in the wind sector. It seemed to be merely a question of a few years until the
exploitation of wind power at sea became an important cornerstone of national energy provision: In January 2002 there were
already 22 applications for the approval of an offshore wind farm
in the Exclusive Economie Zone [EEZ] in the North Sea and 7 for
the Baltic. A few weeks earlier, the initiators of the Borkum West
project had received official approval for the first offshore wind
farm in Germany. The Fédéral Maritime and Hydrographie Agency
of Germany [BSH] had approved the test field with twelve wind
turbines that was later to be christened alpha ventus. A good year
later, the BSH then gave the green light to the Butendiek citizens'
wind farm.
The next step for the exploitation of wind power really seemed
imminent. In those days, wind power was experiencing an upturn
never seen before. The [financial] conditions for the promotion
and exploitation of almost ail renewable energies improved when
the new Renewable Energies Act [EEG] replaced the previous Grid
Feed-in Act in February 2000.
OFFSHORE WIND POWER SEEMED TO BE ON ITS WAY TO BECOMING AN INDISPENSABLE ELEMENT OF GERMAN ELECTRICITY
SUPPLIES.
And there was good reason for this figure: Wind farms on the high
seas were to replace a not inconsiderable share of the nuclear
power capacity that would be phased out by 2023. This was the
underlying rationale of the then red-green fédéral government.
In 2002, the fédéral government had agreed a staged exit plan
with the nuclear power plant operators. Nuclear power génération
would hâve then corne to an end here in 2023.
One exception was offshore wind power for which the EEG rémunération rates remained unchanged until 2009. That is one of
the reasons why the mood of optimism regarding offshore wind
power steadily abated.
It took a further seven years after the BSH approval for Butendiek
until the first twelve German offshore wind turbines were actually
standing in the North Sea. On November 22, 2009, the construction crew in the alpha ventus test field were able to report: today
the twelfth and therefore last turbine in the first German offshore
wind farm was erected.
170