Germany’s Federal Association of Offshore Wind Energy (BWO) has warned that the country’s port capacity is insufficient to meet current targets.
BWO, alongside the Central Association of German Seaport Companies (ZDS), have called for greater cooperation with the federal government to develop a pragmatic and quick solution for financing this expansion.
“It is good that the federal government wants to introduce a transformation component for the use of revenue from the offshore wind auctions,” said BWO Managing Director Stefan Thimm.
“This should, among other things, be used to finance the expansion of the ports and their hinterland connections. In this way, we support the expansion of offshore wind energy and ensure security of supply with cost-effective electricity from offshore wind energy – for the whole of Germany. Offshore wind base ports as well as ports that will be used for the dismantling of old wind turbines can also benefit from the establishment of numerous companies from the supply chain,”
Angela Titzrath, President of the Central Association of German Seaport Companies, added: “Without the German seaports, the planned expansion goals for offshore wind energy cannot be achieved. With a view to the planned ramp-up of output from wind energy at sea, the political course must be set quickly for the expansion of heavy-duty areas in the seaports.
“Here, the federal government in particular has a duty to contribute financially to the success of the energy transition. It would be logical to use the proceeds from the granting of offshore licenses for wind farms at sea and would not put any further strain on the federal budget. With a view to the expansion goals, we cannot afford to postpone the necessary political decisions any further.”