German Windenergy Association

Current market situation and future perspectives

Future trends: repowering

For onshore wind farm development the amount of sites commissioned is decreasing while repowering is proceeding at a too slow pace. 1,667 MW of new capacity were installed in 2007.

Already today repowering could play a stronger role in Germany. However, this is not the case mainly due to building restrictions which make repowering projects unattractive. A number of Federal States (Länder) have issued arbitrary recommendations concerning vicinity and height restrictions, which are then being adopted by the responsible local authorities. In practice this means that a large number of suitable sites can still not be used for the installation of modern turbines. The height restrictions also inhibit the production of units yielding the maximum energy.

Modern turbines with hub hights of 100 meters and more can reach capacity factors of 35 % (3,000 full load hours) in the German mainland. In coastal areas 45 % are feasible. The German government and some Federal States are rethinking the framework conditions in place to allow for continuous onshore development. For example the EEG amendment forsees a remarkable improvement of repowering incentives. The aim is to make repowering more attractive in the coming years. 

(Kopie 1)