Germany to test viability of building wind projects up to 280 km off the coast

Germany has started a multi-year campaign to measure wind speeds around 280 kilometres off the German North Sea coast to prepare the expansion of wind farms in the area.

The government is aiming to reach 70 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2045, which requires building wind farms in these far out areas of the North Sea. Collecting data on the prevailing wind and sea conditions forms a “crucial basis” for expansion, said Helge Heegewaldt, president of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH).

The project dubbed “MeteOR” is being conducted in collaboration with the German Meteorological Service (DWD) and the private company Fugro Norway.

Alongside two measuring buoys that have been deployed in the area, two measuring systems have been anchored to the seabed. For at least three years, the devices will record oceanographic data like swell, ocean current, temperature, salinity, pressure and oxygen content.

Lasers installed in the buoys will also measure wind speeds up to heights of 250 metres – the typical total height of offshore wind turbines. Initial measurements show how dynamic the conditions are offshore.

“This data is indispensable for the evaluation of the meteorological and oceanographic conditions in the preliminary area survey and provides crucial information for the further planning of the expansion of offshore wind energy in Germany,” said Dr. Johannes Hahn, technical coordinator at the BSH.

Industry groups recently said that Germany was on track for its offshore wind expansion targets, though they warned that the next government after the 23 February snap election should stick to the current trajectory. Last year, offshore wind farms in the German North Sea generated aroundeight percent more wind power compared to 2023.

Clean Energy Wire