German wind energy, solar power capacity grows 448 MW in March

Germany’s solar energy capacity grew by 350 MW in March, while wind power growth amounted to 98 MW, of which 42 MW were offshore wind energy, data from regulator BNA showed on Tuesday.
The nation’s total solar capacity was currently 47.2 GW, with wind energy at around 53.2 GW, according BNA and Montel calculations.
German onshore wind farm installations dropped by 87% in the first quarter of 2019 in terms of generation capacity, according to an analysis by non-profit association FA Wind.

Only 41 wind turbines were erected in the country in the period from January to March, accounting for a combined generation capacity of 134.1MW.

That compared to 319 wind turbines going up in the same period a year earlier, for generation capacity of 1042.2MW.

In the current year, development activity was most common in the state of Rheinland-Pfalz, which accounted for 13 of the 41 wind turbines installed.

The licencing situation improved slightly in the first quarter, with 111 new wind turbines accounting for 413.4MW approved, up from 96 turbines and 324.8MW on-year.

However, FA Wind said the rise did not represent a significant upward trend in the context of recent swings in licencing approval rates.

However, a recent sharp slowdown in wind power growth meant that Germany would fail to reach its goal of covering 65% of gross power consumption with renewables by 2030, warned the country’s energy association BDEW.