Example for growth set by German wind energy industry I

On the heals of an announcement from the global wind industry reporting a market expansion of 20 percent last year and that Europe once again dominated with over 70 percent of new installations in 2004, the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) is welcoming the publication of a report by the German Energy Agency, DENA, clarifying the cost of integrating wind power into the German electricity grid. "Contrary to press stories that claim this report calls into question Germany's policy to dramatically expand wind generation, it actually sets out that the country's power network can be adapted quite easily for such an expansion, and at reasonable cost," BWEA said in a statement.

While BWEA is awaiting the full translation of this lengthy and detailed report, initial analysis of the executive summary, together with the official English press statement from DENA and a translation of the press statement made by German Environment Minister Jurgen Trittin, the organization said they are baffled "that the report's findings could be so misconstrued." The headline finding of the report is that expansion of Germany's wind power capacity to 37,000 megawatts (MW), up from a world-leading 17,000 MW now, can be accommodated by extending and upgrading 5 percent of the country's grid, and increasing power prices by only 0.36-0.45 Euro cents/kWh (0.25-0.31 p/kWh). As a result, the average household electricity bill will increase by only Euro 12.6-15.8/year. Put in context, for an additional cost to the UK consumer of about GBP 10 per year, equivalent to two cinema tickets, Germany will achieve 20 percent of its power from renewables, reaping the benefits of lower carbon emissions, economic development and security of energy supply.