Germany's wind energy sector is reviving. A record volume of projects could be approved this year

Wind farm construction in Germany has been relatively slow in recent years, mainly due to a shortage of new projects. Recently, however, there have been signs of a turnaround, with auctions there once again attracting sufficient bids. According to the German Wind Energy Association, this year could see a record volume of newly approved projects. The pace of wind farm construction itself is also picking up.

The onshore wind sector has faced challenging times in Germany in recent years. The country has long lacked new projects, which has affected its auctions, where the full volume of capacity on offer has consistently gone unawarded.

At the beginning of last year, the situation still looked bleak, but it gradually began to turn around. While the first two auction rounds last year were undersubscribed, investor interest began to grow in the second half of the year. The final round of last year, held in November, even attracted the highest volume of project bids ever.

The turnaround in the auctions was likely driven by a significant increase in newly permitted wind farm projects. According to the German Wind Energy Association (BWE), projects with a total installed capacity of more than 4000 MW were approved during the first quarter of this year. This also marks the third consecutive quarter in which the capacity of newly permitted projects exceeded this threshold.

"This means that, in this respect, 2025 has already surpassed the entire years of 2015 and 2017 to 2022 in the first quarter alone. Particularly encouraging is that, despite the large number of permit applications, the average processing time has fallen again and now stands at 18.7 months," said Bärbel Heidebroek, the association's chairwoman.

According to Heidebroek, the trend in the construction of onshore wind farms is also positive. With around 1000 MW of new capacity, this year's first quarter is 40% above the figure for the same period last year. Projects with a total installed capacity of around 28 GW are currently approved in Germany. This should ensure a sufficient project pipeline for the upcoming auction rounds and help maintain the accelerating pace of construction.

"Onshore wind power is maintaining the strong momentum of last year, and all key indicators are developing positively. The uneven distribution of newly permitted and commissioned capacity remains a downside to these good results. The southern federal states must finally do their part," Heidebroek added.