The booming German wind power

When people mentioned Germany, the first thing people thought of was natural nuclear power. However, in addition to nuclear power, the development of wind power in Germany was also quite large. Germany is an active member of the European Union in the development of renewable energy. Germany once promised to the EU that 18% of all energy supply will come from renewable energy sources by 2020, and Germany has already achieved 10% of renewable energy utilization rate. In terms of power supply, Germany's performance is also very good. According to statistics, as of the end of 2009, 16% of German electricity came from renewable energy sources. Among them, wind power is a very important source.

According to EU wind power statistics, as of the end of 2009, Germany installed a total of 21,164 million wind turbines, with a total installed capacity of 25,777 megawatts. Affected by the global economic crisis, investment in the German economy in 2009 also fell by 12.5%, but investment in renewable energy increased by 20%. Among them, the investment in wind power reached 2.65 billion euros, becoming a stable growth area in the German economy.

Germany's Enercon, Vestas Denmark, and Germany's REpower are the three leading wind turbine manufacturers on the German wind market. At present, about 90,000 people are employed in wind power in Germany. Wind power has become an important part of Germany's goal of achieving 30% of the total supply of renewable energy. The data shows that despite the financial crisis in 2009, the installed capacity of wind power in Germany is still higher than in 2008. Among these, offshore wind power plays an important role. It is understood that as of the end of 2009, the installed capacity of offshore wind power in Germany was approximately 300 to 400 MW. In addition, the Renewable Energy Law Amendment (EEG) was introduced in Germany in January 2009, which also stimulated the development of the German wind power market and accelerated the development of the German offshore wind power industry.

The development of offshore wind power in Germany pays great attention to the application of science and technology. In 2009, the Alfantus offshore wind farm was built in Germany. It is understood that the project was first proposed by the German federal and state authorities in 2001, but it was delayed for several years, during which approximately 29 offshore wind farm projects and 1,894 turbine installations were approved. In April last year, the project was officially started construction and was finally completed in November, becoming an important step for the German wind power industry to enter the sea. It is reported that Alfantus wind farm can not only be used as an ordinary offshore wind farm, but also can test wind turbines with a rating of 5 MW in harsh marine environments. The wind farm has six M5000 fans standing on a triangular stand, and another six Repower-made 5 MW turbines stand in 30 meters deep water. It is estimated that the total installed capacity of the wind farm is 60 megawatts, and the maximum annual power generation capacity can reach 220 GWh, which can meet the electricity demand of approximately 50,000 households.

At the same time, in order to be able to obtain experience and related technology from this test field as much as possible, the German Federal Ministry of the Environment has also developed a research plan RAVE that fits this project. Up to now, 36 million Euros have been invested under this program and 25 research projects have been carried out. In addition, Germany has established the Institute of Wind Energy and Energy Systems Technology (IWES) in Fraunhofer, and has worked closely with German and other wind power research institutes in the world to focus on the research and development of wind power grid-connected technologies.