BERLIN, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Following a record year for onshore wind energy, only 2,402 megawatts (MW) or 743 new turbines were installed in Germany in 2018, the German Wind Energy Association (BWE) announced on Tuesday.
According to the figures by energy consultants DeutschenWindGuard on behalf of BWE and VDMA Power Systems, new construction of wind power in Germany fell short of 2013 levels and decreased by 55 percent compared to 2017, "although the demand for renewable electricity will increase significantly in the future," commented Matthias Zelinger, managing director of VDMA Power Systems.
The results are below earlier forecasts by the German industry associations in mid-2018 which predicted 3,300 MWs of new installations. For 2019, BWE expects new construction totaling 2,000 MWs.
"This threatens the leading position of the German wind industry in international competition and poses considerable challenges for the industry," said Zelinger but added that "Germany remains Europe's largest market for onshore wind energy."
According to BWE, the reason for the "massive decline" was a high proportion of projects that have not been realized yet. In addition, more than 900 MWs could not be connected to the grid in time.
The 65 percent target for renewable energy set by the German government could not be achieved by 2030 if the "foreseeable annual expansion is continued," warned Zelinger.
According to forecast from the Global Wind Energy Council, the world's largest increase in wind turbine capacity between 2019 and 2022 is expected in Asia at 118 GW, followed by Europe at 62 GW and North America 44 GW.
"In order to maintain the export strength of German manufacturers, politicians must work to maintain open markets. This also applies to securing export financing," said Zelinger.
