The German government has agreed with heads of the country’s federal states to limit the expansion of onshore wind at 2.8GW annually.
Only a certain amount of new capacity and repowering – some 60% of the current annual average – will be permitted in the North of Germany to avoid overburdening of the grid.
Tenders will be introduced for around 80% of renewable power installations, excluding small photovoltaic plants, the government said.
An upper limit of 600MW will be in place for annual solar power auctions. Installations smaller than 750KW will continue to receive feed-in tariff support in order not to discourage rooftop solar panels. In total, the government expects to reach an annual expansion of 2.5GW for solar power.
With the new limits, the government aims at reaching a green power share of 40 to 45% of total electricity supply by 2025.
Negotiations will continue as the government and states did not agree on limits for biomass and did not reveal details on offshore wind support systems.
The government hopes to approve the proposals in the cabinet on 8 June.
Draft laws on renewables and offshore wind are due to enter into force at the start of 2017.
“The 2800MW limit is bitter, but at least it gives us a planning horizon,” said Hermann Albers, head of the German Wind Energy Association.
Image: Nordex
