Wind Industry in Germany

Germany is by far the largest market for wind energy in Europe. Further expansion both onshore and offshore will lead to high demand for wind turbines and implementation expertise. The demand for operation and maintenance services is already high due to the large number of turbines and will continue to grow. The challenges for offshore construction, operation and maintenance are particularly high and open up new business opportunities for specialized companies.

New construction

Germany’s ambitious growth targets cannot be achieved at current capacity levels. Further expansion along the entire value chain is necessary – from production to planning and construction.

In the offshore wind sector, there are also a large number of special fields that are particularly in demand. Growing demand for environmental testing and operational vessels for preliminary investigations as well as construction and maintenance is enormous.

Operation and maintenance

By 2030, onshore wind farms with a capacity of 115 GW will already need to be maintained – with a further 30 GW capacity offshore. The need for monitoring and control technology is huge, and the requirements for regular maintenance will lead to high demand for corresponding services.

Dismantling and recycling

In 2024 alone, 557 wind turbines were decommissioned – the majority as part of repowering projects. The average age of these turbines was 22 years, meaning that most of them were no longer eligible for subsidies under the EEG. Today, around 9,000 turbines are already over 20 years old. Continued operation will often be possible even without EEG funding, but dismantling will continue to increase as the age of the plant portfolio increases. Against this backdrop, the recycling of the various components and materials is becoming a growing challenge that offers great opportunities for investment in the recycling sector.

Favorable Political Framework

Germany has committed itself to the energy transition and wind energy plays the leading role in the expansion of renewable energies. Political support is high with legislative packages in 2022 and 2023 increasing wind energy targets. New measures to accelerate the planning and approval process were also introduced. Germany has also developed a roadmap to further reduce barriers to onshore wind energy expansion.

Wind Energy on Land Strategy

Legal changes have also been made in the offshore wind sector: The expansion targets have been greatly increased and the definition of the expansion path to 2045 creates more planning security. The approval of offshore wind turbines and offshore connection lines has been streamlined so that projects can be realized more quickly.

Expertise for Developing Solutions for the Wind Industry

Germany’s education system supplies a large pool of experienced, world-class employees with the engineering know-how for successful wind energy business in Germany.

A number of new wind-energy engineering degree programs have been created across Germany to meet industry demand. Stable wages, high productivity and local manufacturing provide for faster times to market. International actors also benefit from the “Made in Germany” quality guarantee.  Close cooperation between Germany's R&D institutes and equipment manufacturers helps maintain an internationally unparalleled competitive edge.

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