German wind turbines are about to stop working

Due to the complete overload on the grid, many German wind turbines are about to stop working. This has serious consequences for both operators and end customers.

Many German wind turbines are about to stop working. This is due, among other things, to network overload. The consequences are felt not only by operators, but also by end consumers.

German wind turbines for climate goals

Germany is currently focusing on expanding the use of renewable energies because the country wants to become climate neutral by 2045. German wind turbines constitute an important key to achieving this goal. Thanks to this, we have already reached half of the interim target. This consists of doubling green electricity compared to 2021. We have already achieved 52 percent thanks to wind turbines. But due to a major problem, many German wind turbines are about to stop working. Some of them have already been closed. The consequences directly affect the bike operators and us as end customers.

German wind turbines before shutdown – that's the problem

Because wind turbines and the energy generated from them are ready faster than Germany is ready for wheels and renewable energies. The numerous necessary approval procedures take a lot of time, making the expansion of the renewable energy grid very slow. For this reason, the current network is completely overloaded. The electricity generated by wind turbines cannot be transported far, which is why many operators are forced to shut down their wind turbines. Shutdowns are intended to prevent network overload. This means that green electricity is simply wasted. In addition, decommissioning costs are ultimately paid by the end customer.

However, this problem does not only exist with wind turbines. Other green energy sources such as biogas, solar and water systems are also affected by this problem. This results in operators receiving compensation for not using their energy. In 2023 alone, €3.1 billion were paid to them and transferred to end customers. Since experts expect compensation costs to reach around 6.5 billion euros per year until 2026, this leads to higher electricity prices. This compensation share should reach about 23 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2035. Experts warn that this could lead to people in Germany not accepting the energy transition.