German North Sea wind power up 8% last year

The power generated is equivalent to the annual consumption of around 6.5 million households.

Tennet put total electricity generated last year from wind power, both on land and offshore, at around 150 TWh, with the contribution from the North Sea stable at around 14%.

Wind farms in the Baltic Sea, which are operated by 50 Hertz, generated 4.89 TWh last year, 0.72 TWh more than in 2023, according to Tennet figures.

The capacity of North Sea wind farms rose by 281 megawatts last year to 7,387 MW. Installed capacity in the Baltic Sea was 1,828 MW, up 476 MW from 2023.

Tennet Germany head Tim Meyerjürgens has called for better use of the area available. "The goal has to be actual energy generation, and not installed capacity, to keep costs down as far as possible," he said.

Smart allocation of the areas could result in savings amounting to tens of billions of euros, leading to lower grid charges, he said.

By contrast, Germany's NABU environmental organization has pointed to the disadvantages of intensive installation on the North Sea. The current planning and environmental criteria had to be abolished, NABU marine protection head Kim Detloff said.

"The harm caused to ecological systems is out of control,' he said, calling for a lower load on the North Sea and Baltic Sea.

Wind power from the two regions is key to government plans to generate power from renewables and cut greenhouse gas emissions.