BERLIN, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The expansion of wind energy generated in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea has reached its 2020 target of 6.5 gigawatts of capacity ahead of schedule, according to statistics published by Deutsche WindGuard on behalf of the German Wind Energy Association (BWE) on Wednesday.
At present, there are 1,351 wind turbines generating 6.7 gigawatts of electricity in the German parts of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, according to WindGuard. When the wind is blowing, the turbines are generating roughly as much energy as 10 larger coal plants.
According to the BWE, the maximum assignable overall grid connection capacity of 7.7 gigawatts of offshore wind power generation by 2020 set by the German government is expected to be reached before the end of this year.
The BWE called for the expansion targets for offshore wind capacity to be raised to at least 20 gigawatts of installed offshore capacity by 2030 and at least 30 gigawatts by 2035 in the German parts of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
The German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) has also recently called for the 2030 target for offshore wind energy to be raised in order to reduce land requirements for renewable energies.
"The currently existing land limitations for various renewable energy technologies are hampering sufficient expansion rates and the exploitation of existing potential in the respective segments," said Stefan Kapferer, head of the BDEW.
By 2030, the German government aims to achieve a 65 percent share of renewable energies in electricity generation and to increase offshore wind energy generation by up to 15 gigawatts.
In the first six months of 2019, all renewables accounted for 47.6 percent of total power generation in Germany, an increase of 30 percent compared with the same period in 2018, according to the BWE.
