German 2019 onshore wind additions fall to lowest level since 2000

London — German onshore wind additions amounted to 1,078 MW last year, their lowest level since 2000, German wind association BWE said Tuesday.

Taking into account the 155 MW of repowered projects and 97 MW of retirements, net additions of 981 MW brought total installed capacity to 53.912 GW by end-2019.

For 2020, the lobby forecasts 1.4-1.8 GW of capacity additions.

"A trend reversal this year or next will only succeed if the federal government swiftly removes obstacles to the approval process and avoids new obstacles," BWE said.

2019 additions were 80% below the record 5.3 GW added in 2017 ahead of the switch from feed-in-tariffs to auctions, coinciding with a rapid deceleration in permitting.

Over 10 GW of projects are currently stuck in permitting with some auctions last year undersubscribed.

Germany's latest onshore wind auction in December was oversubscribed for the first time in over a year, 509 MW being awarded.

"In order to fill the auctions to the available volumes, the well-known approval issues need to be removed and new areas allocated for wind," BWE said.

It warned the government's one-kilometer distance rule between turbines and housing would cut available space for projects by 40%.

Meanwhile plans to ease nighttime turbine lighting regulations and reduce exclusion zones around civil aviation radar stations could free up 5 GW of capacity, the BWE said.

The association saw potential for 11.2 GW of new capacity online by 2023, while noting 4 GW would reach the end of 20-year support contracts by the end of this year.

German onshore wind turbines generated a record 104 TWh in 2019, up 13% on year.