Wind energy expansion in Germany in 2024 at previous year's level - IWR expects upturn in 2025/26

Münster (renewablepress) - The expansion of wind energy in Germany in 2024 will not be able to match the growth of previous years. A total of 701 wind turbines (2023: 782 turbines) with a capacity of 3,920 MW (2023: 3,843 MW) went into operation last year. This is the result of an initial evaluation of data from the Market Master Data Register (MaStR) of the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) by the Internationales Wirtschaftsforum Regenerative Energien (IWR) in Münster (data as of January 3, 2025).

In 2024, a total of 628 newly built and commissioned wind turbines (2023: 755 turbines) with a capacity of 3,178 MW (2023: 3,585 MW) will be attributable to onshore wind energy in Germany. In the offshore wind energy market segment, 73 wind turbines (2023: 27 turbines) with a capacity of 742 MW (2023: 257 MW) were connected to the grid.

With 152 new wind turbines and a capacity of 733 MW, the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia moved up to first place in the federal state rankings, followed by Lower Saxony (126 turbines, 652 MW), Schleswig-Holstein (115 turbines, 579 MW), Brandenburg (69 turbines, 360 MW) and Saxony-Anhalt (46 turbines, 250 MW). Saarland (2 turbines, 9.8 MW), Saxony (5 turbines, 23.9 MW) and Thuringia (6 turbines, 30.7 MW) are at the bottom of the federal state rankings. In the city states of Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg, no new wind turbines went into operation in 2024.

“The year 2024 marks a year of transition in the German wind industry. According to the Federal Network Agency's increasing tendering figures, the conditions are good for the wind market in Germany to gain significant momentum in 2025 and especially in 2026,” said IWR head Dr. Norbert Allnoch in Münster.

According to data from the Federal Network Agency, around 32,500 wind turbines with a total capacity (gross) of around 74,900 MW have been commissioned in Germany as of December 31, 2024. As more and more old turbines are being dismantled at the end of their service life and replaced by new, more powerful wind turbines (repowering), there are currently around 30,620 turbines with a net capacity of 72,700 MW in operation.

According to grid operator data, electricity generation from wind energy in Germany reached a total of around 137 billion kWh (2023: 142 billion kWh). While onshore wind power production was lower than in the previous year at 111.6 billion kWh (2023: 118 billion kWh), electricity generation from offshore wind turbines climbed to around 25.6 billion kWh in 2024 (2023: around 24 billion kWh).

Note: The data evaluation of the market master data register at the BNetzA reflects the status as of January 3, 2025 and represents a snapshot. Statistical changes (including retroactive changes) are possible at any time due to individual subsequent notifications of installations or corrections to the installation register by the BNetzA. The uncertainties do not lead to changes in the trend statements.