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WAB shows concern for German offshore wind SME's

By: Tom Russell 16/03/2020 WAB e.V.

General Windfarms

Bremerhaven-based wind energy organisation WAB e.V. (WAB) has accused the German government of leaving small to medium enterprises (SME's) under "existential threat" with the slowing down of offshore wind development in Germany. WAB also stated that the Federal Government has failed to meet its own goals formulated just before the last major amendment of Germany’s renewable energy act.

Four years ago, in a key issues paper, the Federal Government announced that it would continue to expand renewable energies “steadily and cost-effectively” and ensure enough competition to keep costs down. WAB stated that these goals have not been achieved.

Furthermore, at the time of the release of the key issues paper the government stated "A 'thread break' in this comparatively young technology should be prevented," and "It is therefore important to have a continuous expansion". The government promised that this would also take account of the industrial policy concerns of the coastal regions. WAB claims the “thread break” has arrived and the government's planned stopping of the expansion of offshore wind in the coming years will empty the order books of domestic SMEs.

"The Offshore Wind Energy Act (WindSeeG) needs to be amended quickly as in this act the 20 gigwatts target until 2030 and sufficient connection capacities are to be legally implemented. The long-term goal of at least 40 gigawatts in the German North Sea by 2050 also needs to be enshrined in the WindSeeG in order to provide planning security. Only then can the necessary infrastructure for the connection capacity be planned in a timely and cost-effective manner,” said Olaf Lies, Minister for the Environment, Energy, Construction and Climate Protection of Lower Saxony.

"This thread break will put many SMEs out of business and add to the number of jobs already lost in the sector," said WAB managing director Heike Winkler. "The on- and offshore wind energy sector along the coastline and inland makes an important contribution economically and technologically to the success of the energy transition. It needs a reliable perspective and the long-awaited political tailwind to be able to realize its potential for sector coupling via "green" hydrogen."

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WAB shows concern for German offshore wind SME's

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