Germany's wind industry on course for record approvals and installations by 2025

An industry lobby reported on Wednesday that Germany has approved more than 4,000 megawatts of new onshore power capacity, and will add over 1,000 MW of new installations in the 1st quarter of 2025. This could be a record year for this sector.

According to the BWE Wind Power Association, the number of new onshore wind installations increased by 40% over the previous year during the first three-month period in 2025. New approvals also reached a record high for a quarter. This is the third quarter that the threshold for approvals has been exceeded for the 4,000MW.

In a press release, BWE's Baerbel Heidebroek stated that 2025 has already shown the potential to be a record-breaking year in terms of new installations and approvals.

This boost comes from Germany's push for decarbonisation, and its desire to reduce dependency on fossil fuel imports. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has also accelerated this drive.

In the last three years, Germany’s incoming government has passed several laws in order to remove obstacles to the expansion of renewable energy and to accelerate project approvals. It aims to meet 80% the country's electrical needs by renewable sources by 2030.

Heidebroek stated that there was enough capacity approved -- approximately 28 gigawatts-- to supply the upcoming subsidy rounds this year, with a large share coming from Germany’s most populous State, North Rhine-Westphalia.

(source: Reuters)