Status of Wind Energy in Germany 2015

According to figures provided by Deutsche WindGuard, 26774 wind turbines with a capacity of 44947 megawatt [MW] were in operation in Germany at the end of 2015.

1115 new wind turbines were installed during the year, which added 3536 MW to the land-based wind energy development. Furthermore, 546 new offshore turbines with a capacity of 2283 MW were connected to the grid. Together the gross additions in 2015 were about 5818 MW, which means an increase of about 10% compared to the previous year.

According to a report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Germany has overtaken the UK in the rate at which it is installing wind turbines at sea. More than 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind power was connected to the European grid last year with the vast majority coming from Germany.  Guardian

When it comes to the total installed capacity, rankings show that Lower Saxony leads the comparison between German states with 8602 MW. Schleswig-Holstein follows with 5897 MW in second place and Brandenburg comes in third place 5849 MW.

Combined, the northern states comprise 42% of the cumulative installed capacity and central Germany 44 % at the end of 2015. In the southern states 14% of the installed capacity is found. Offshore the North Sea is the leading performer with a capacity of 2956 MW fed into the grid. In the Baltic Sea 339 MW are installed.

With the erection of 888 MW, Schleswig-Holstein contributes the largest share of the new installed capacity in 2015. Distinct installation activities took place within North Rhine-Westphalia [422 MW] and Lower Saxony [413 MW] during 2015.
Offshore, the full commissioning of 9 wind energy projects was achieved [Amrumbank West I, Baltic II, Borkum Riffgrund 1, Butendiek, DanTysk, Global Tech I, Meerwind SüdIOst, Nordsee Ost und Trianel Windpark Borkum [Phase 1] ].

The German electricity system has reached a new milestone, generating 85.4 bn kWh of wind power in 2015, which is the highest amount ever recorded and 66% more than 2014. Nationwide, wind energy accounted for 13.3% of German electricity generation during the last year.  Energy Charts

The 2015 numbers were presented by Deutsche WindGuard on behalf of German Wind Energy Association, Association Offshore Wind Energy, Offshore Wind Energy Foundation, Wind Energy Agency and VDMA Power Systems.

Download Factsheets:
Status of land-based wind energy development in Germany
Status of offshore wind energy development in Germany
Yearbook Wind Energy Germany 2015