In German waters, exploitation and further expansion of offshore wind energy takes place primarily beyond the 12 nautical mile area of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). A large proportion of projects that are already connected to the grid, or are already planned or under construction, are located in the deep waters of the German North Sea and Baltic Sea.

Offshore wind energy: convergence with nearshore projects

Germany‘s first offshore pilot projects went into service as nearshore turbines in 2004 (Enova Offshore Ems-Emden), 2006 (Rostock offshore turbine) and 2008 (Hooksiel), before the arrival of offshore test field alpha-ventus – Germany’s first offshore wind farm – in 2010.

 

Illustration: Map of Germany with offshore project in the North and Baltic Sea

 

Expansion in Germany intensifies in 2014

Expansion of offshore wind energy gained significant momentum in 2014 und 2015. In 2015, offshore wind turbines with total capacity of around 2,250 MW were connected to the grid. Eight wind farms (most recently Amrumbank West) with around 2,370 MW in capacity were officially put into service in 2015 alone (2014: 400 MW, 2013: 400 MW, 2011: 48 MW, 2010: 60 MW).

 

Wind farms in operation – development of Germany’s offshore wind energy

 

Year	Offshore Wind Farm	Capacity (MW)
2015
	Amrumbank West a	302
	Riffgrund 1	312
	Butendiek	288
	Trianel Windpark Borkum	200
	Nordsee Ost	295
	Dan Tysk	288
	Global Tech 1	400
	Baltic 2	288
2014
	Meerwind Süd / Ost	288
	Riffgat	113
2013
	Bard Offshore 1	400
2011
	Baltic 1	48
2010
	alpha ventus	60
2008
	Hooksiel (Pilot-WEA)	5
2006
	Breitling (Pilot-WEA)	2,5
2004
	Offshore Project Ems-Emden (Pilot-WEA)	4,5
Total		rd. 3.300 MW
Status quo: 22/01/2016 Information of Operators a = ursprünglicher Inbetriebnahmewert laut Betreiber 288 MW, nachträglich Angabe einer Leistungserweiterung Hinweis: Offshore-Windparks werden über einen längeren Zeitraum realisiert. Die aufgeführten Jahreszahlen geben das offizielle Inbetriebnahmejahr des jeweiligen gesamten Windparks an. Statistische Abweichungen von den veröffentlichten Offshore-Jahres-Zubaubauzahlen können sich durch Teil-Realisierung von Offshore-Windparks in einem Kalenderjahr ergeben.