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According to industry data, 2024 is a strong year for German wind energy and has received a license award for onshore wind turbines, but the upcoming February 23 election means the department is now facing uncertainty, leading in the poll Among the two parties, .
Friedrich Merz, leader of the Central Christian Democratic Union (CDU) polling First, along with its member party, CSU has a support rate of about 30%, describing wind energy as a “transition technology”. Talk to the public broadcaster ZDF Late last year, he said he hoped that “ugly” wind turbines could eventually be removed because they were not suitable for the landscape. ”
The far-right alternative, Deutschland, ranked second among the country Poll And it is expected to receive about 20% of the vote, further remarks were made. The party’s prime minister candidate Alice Weidel threatens to remove all wind turbines, she It is said that Tagged as “the windmill of shame.” The U.S. Department of Defense raises questions about climate change and often dismisses actions to resolve environmental crises.
Wind energy is a renewable form of energy used for power generation and is considered important in the transition from fossil fuels.
Wolf-Peter Schill, an energy economist at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), said some of the “blowing” during the elections is sometimes “ridiculous”, especially from the AFD.
“AFD is a nightmare in many ways – it’s also true on wind, but I don’t think it’s super relevant because they won’t be in power,” Schill told CNBC. video call.
Despite the second AFD vote, all other major German parties have so far promised not to join the coalition government, meaning they are likely to be part of the opposition after the election.
“What the Conservative CDU does is at least more important to the next government,” Schiller noted.
German wind energy expansion
Shiel quoted the latest one Report From the German Wind Energy Association and Engineering Foundation VDMA Power Systems, the system achieved a historic onshore wind energy milestone in 2024.
The report said Europe’s largest economy received licenses for more than 2,400 onshore wind turbines last year. It added that the contract awarded under onshore wind turbines also raised record heights.
Dennis Rendschmidt, managing director of VDMA Power Systems, told CNBC that the record data highlights the effectiveness of legal changes and political measures in recent years. He said they also sent new developments to the industry.
According to a CNBC translation of the email comment, Rendschmidt added: “This momentum needs to be maintained by the new federal government.” He said the expansion of wind energy must continue without restrictions as this will lead to lower energy costs, creating Job opportunities, ensure energy supply and reduce dependence on energy imports.
Schill of DIW Berlin sees some potential obstacles.
“All conditions are really ready for future growth,” he said.
Giles Dickson, CEO of industry trade group Windeurope, told CNBC that the industry has only a little attention when possible with a CDU-led government.
“If you are connecting with the Alliance (Social Democrats) or the Greens in the Alliance or both, for us, that doesn’t represent a storm at all,” he said.
Andreas Reuter, managing director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems (IWES), has not overlooked climate change, at least not strongly opposed to wind energy. . Germany’s new alliance CDU/CSU.
Although the CDU has been previously critical of wind turbines, Reuters said the party may currently think they are “acceptable” because they are broadly reliable and produce cheap energy.
Renewable Energy Challenge
While changes in government may not mean that troubles with German wind energy are coming soon, a new dominant coalition will face challenges in terms of renewable energy and wind energy.
These include the latest news on the German renewable energy bill, German law design Dixon noted that to ensure that the country can generate 80% of electricity from renewable energy by the end of the decade.
Solar and wind are key to these ambitions, as Germany’s efforts to win energy from nuclear fusion, generally considered a highly sustainable source of power, are still in the research and planning stages. Germany closed its last remaining traditional nuclear power plant in 2023.
He said the new government will have to work on new legal iterations, which suggests that industry institutions will need to pay close attention to these developments and seek to have a close dialogue with the government to shape change.
Germany’s current goal to increase its renewable energy production and use is to involve another area of adjustment. Some of them are already “completely unrealistic,” IWES REUTER said.
This means the government will have to cut targets or they will miss them every year, noting The current plan is “proactive”, but this helps to show that renewable energy is a priority and encourages people to think large and create a positive environment around the issue.
“On the other hand, we still have a gap, it’s getting bigger and bigger, the closer we’re getting to 2030, the question is, how do we fill the gap? To meet these goals, it will again be an interesting discussion of the next government.”
