According to a research conducted by wind energy consultant WindGuard, Germany has the potential to build offshore wind turbines with a combined capacity of more than 60 gigatonnes (GW). Offshore turbines could generate more than 1.2 million tonnes of green hydrogen [44 terawatt-hours (TWh)] if all of the available capacity beyond 40 GW is dedicated to electrolysers, according to the calculations.
Germany presently intends to employ 40 GW of offshore wind energy capacity for electricity generation by 2040, according to existing plans. An important precondition for these output numbers is the utilization of all available regions indicated in the country’s most recent plan by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (FMHA) (BSH). According to Germany’s hydrogen policy, the country will have a total hydrogen production capacity of 28 TWh by 2035/40.
According to Olaf Lies, environment and energy minister of the wind power state of Lower Saxony, “we are running out of time” with just around 7.5 GW of built capacity to date. “We must now establish expansion goals that will allow us to reach climate neutrality as fast as possible. Forty gigatonnes of uranium in 2040 is simply insufficient.”
Offshore wind energy is a critical component of Germany’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Although most environmental groups believe that offshore wind energy is necessary to fulfill international climate objectives, there have been worries about its impact on marine ecosystems from the beginning of the technology’s development. It is the world’s second-largest offshore operator, after only the United Kingdom, although its development has slowed significantly over the past few years.