German wind energy capacity takes leap in first half of 2025

Germany’s wind energy capacity took another leap in the first half of 2025, figures from trade associations showed on Tuesday.

The German Wind Energy Association and the VDMA Power Systems group said 409 new turbines with a total capacity of around 2.2 gigawatts went into operation in the first six months of the year.

This was two-thirds more than in the same period of the previous year and the best half-year figure since 2017.

After deducting decommissioned turbines, net growth in the first half of the year totalled around 1.9 gigawatts.

New wind turbines are significantly more powerful than old ones that are being removed from the grid.

The total German wind turbine portfolio grew by 199 to around 29,000 nationwide with a total output of 65.3 gigawatts.

Onshore wind turbines contributed more than 22% to electricity generation in the first half of the year.

This was less than in the first half of 2024 because the first four months of this year were characterized by below-average wind levels.

Germany’s previous administration under former chancellor Olaf Scholz made huge efforts to accelerate the construction of onshore wind farms by cutting bureaucratic hurdles, aiming to speed up Germany’s transition to renewable energies.

However, the current economy minister, Katherina Reiche, has warned of a “reality check” for the energy transition, citing high costs.

The expansion of renewable energies should be better synchronized with the expansion of the grid, she argued, to avoid turbines standing still on windy days when the grid is overloaded.