More offshore wind energy Habeck: "New offshore agreement sends out a strong joint signal to attain the 30 GW expansion target by 2030"

A new agreement on the expansion of offshore wind energy was concluded today at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action during today’s third Offshore Dialogue. Apart from the Federal Government, the agreement was signed by the Länder of the Hanseatic City of Bremen, the Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein, and the TSOs 50Hertz, Amprion and TenneT.

This Offshore Realisation Agreement updates the initial agreement concluded in 2020 and adapts it to the new ambitious expansion targets. In accordance with the Offshore Wind Energy Act, offshore wind energy is to be expanded substantially, namely to a minimum of 30 GW by 2030, 40 GW by 2035 and 70 GW by 2045. The previous targets were 20 GW by 2030 and 40 GW by 2040. This means that the expansion needs to be accelerated massively.

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck said: "The offshore agreement is an essential milestone for more offshore wind energy and a strong joint commitment to the expansion target of 30 gigawatts by 2030. In the agreement, we have laid down a clear process to take steps in order to gradually attain the 30 gigawatts target. In this context, the milestones and schedules for the necessary connection lines to attain the 30 gigawatts target are particularly important.

"And we also need additional personnel to be able to speed up planning processes. In the last two years, the Federal Government has provided especially the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) with much more staff by creating more than one hundred jobs. This increase in staff must serve as a spur to all of us as we need more personnel to accelerate processes."

Today’s signing of the new offshore agreement was preceded by two Offshore Dialogues headed by Minister Habeck this year. In the agreement signed today, all stakeholders commit themselves to closely coordinate measures in order to attain the 30 GW offshore wind energy target by 2030. The agreement comprises specific steps on the allocation of adequate offshore sites, compatibility of the expansion with nature, specific schedules and milestones, the crossing of the territorial waters, the necessary coordination, and the resources needed for the acceleration of processes.

You can find the new agreement (in German) here.