renewables – Made in Germany

The EEG forms a basis for the stable development
of Germany’s wind power industry. In addition to
ensuring planning security, it also offers the industry
incentives to advance technical developments that
could significantly reduce the cost of wind power.
Wind energy is already competitive today in some
locations. Energy from wind power can also now be
sold directly in Germany, although most wind power
energy is still remunerated under the terms of the EEG.
The new EEG raised the tariff rates for wind energy in
2009 and provided more attractive conditions for
‘repowering’ – the replacement of older turbines with
newer, more powerful ones.
Incentives to improve the integration of wind turbines
into the grid, through what is known as the ‘systems
service bonus’, for example, were among the new
specifications introduced in the amendments to the
EEG in 2009. Since 2011, new onshore turbines �p 17
must demonstrate certain grid control characteristics,
in return for which the initial tariff will be increased
by 0.5 EUR ct / kWh through the systems service
bonus. From 1 January 2012, the newest EEG amendment
further rewards repowering – the replacing of
older turbines with new and more powerful turbines.
However, from January 2012, the repowering bonus
of 0.5 EUR ct/kWh will be paid only for turbines that
were put into operation before 2002. A “Repowering
Info Clearinghouse” was set up on the 1st of January
2010 to promote repowering, and it began its work on
the 26 th of March 2010. This information exchange,
with its headquarters in Hanover, supports municipalities
and local authorities in the process of replacing
older wind turbines with new, more powerful ones.
For air traffic safety reasons, wind turbines in Germany
of a total height of 100 m or more require aeronautical
beacons. This ‘illumination’ often leads to acceptance
issues; modified beacons and the prospective use
of transponders in small aircraft may solve this issue.
Outlook
After the slump on the international wind market,
a gradual increase is expected for the coming years
�p 22. In 2020, 12 % of the world’s electricity supply
needs will be met by wind energy. The world wind
energy industry association, the Global Wind Energy
Council (GWEC), has forecast that more than 34 % of
the world’s power requirements may be generated
using climate-friendly wind energy in 2050.
The rate of international growth will depend on
overall energy policy conditions, among other things.
In years to come, countless new turbines will be built
in countries offering a positive regulatory environment
for expanding renewable energies. Current
growth markets in Europe include Spain, Portugal,
Great Britain, France and Italy. Outside of Europe,
expanding markets will be located primarily in Asia.
However, the Chinese government is aiming to restrict
growth, to avoid a disproportionate inflation of the
market. Central and Eastern European countries,
other Asian nations, Latin America, (North) African
countries and the Near and Middle East will also be
major future markets. A rise in repowering is also a
potent growth factor.
The increasing transnational trade in electricity
across Europe, the shift of the energy generation
focus away from conventional power plants, and the
expansion of renewable energies, in particular of
wind energy, has made it necessary to modify the
power grid infrastructure, with a focus on optimising
the existing network and making it more flexible.
Measures to expand the power grid and improve its
utilisation, through temperature monitoring, for
example, are currently in preparation in Germany.
The use of new storage technologies such as compressed
air storage (among others), better load management
in the private and industrial sectors, and the
networking of decentralised power generation into
so-called virtual power plants all offer considerable
potential for the optimal integration of wind energy.
Virtual power plants can be used to connect regenerative
energy generation systems, enabling all the turbines
to be managed optimally, both economically
and technically. However, it is imperative that the
network be further expanded so as to completely
integrate renewable energies and ensure security of
supply. Another current topic of discussion is methanation.
Methane can be synthesised using excess wind
energy. It can then be fed into the gas grid and converted
back to electricity on demand. This presents
an alternative to pure expansion of the power grid.
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