Offshore wind study challenges German energy goals

A new study titled ‘Offshore-Windenergienutzung in Deutschland’ by the international association vgbe energy e. V. challenges current German and EU decarbonization goals in the electricity sector. The research, conducted by Thomas Linnemann and Guido S. Vallana, suggests that the strategy of simply increasing installed offshore wind capacity may not be effective for supplying power to large parts of Germany, particularly in the south.

Analyzing data from 2015 to 2024, the authors found that excessive expansion of offshore wind power yields only diminishing returns in electricity output. The study notes that wind power production often occurs independently of actual demand. Between 2015 and 2024, the annual average minimum output from sea-based wind reached less than one percent of installed capacity on only three days, and less than five percent on 44 days.