(Adnkronos) – The expansion of offshore wind energy continues to advance in Germany, with an installed capacity of 1,077 megawatts as of June 30. Germany has thus exceeded the ten gigawatt (Gw) threshold for the first time, according to the Federal Association for Offshore Wind Energy. In the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, 1,764 wind turbines are in operation.
In Italy, only one offshore plant is in operation, off the coast of Taranto, with an installed capacity of 0.03 gigawatts.
According to data provided by the German Association, another 22 wind turbines with a capacity of 323 megawatts have already been built but are not yet operational. Furthermore, final investment decisions have been made for projects with a total capacity of 2.6 Gw. For other offshore wind projects with a capacity of 17.5 Gw, however, no final investment decisions have yet been made.
According to current forecasts, a total of 30 Gw of offshore wind energy could be installed in Germany by 2032 (one gigawatt corresponds to one thousand megawatts). Offshore wind turbines produce, on average, more electricity than onshore turbines of equal capacity.
According to data from the German Association for Energy and Water (Fao), offshore wind turbines operate at full capacity for a period between 3,500 and 4,500 hours, while onshore ones operate between 2,000 and 3,000 hours.
In 2025, again according to Fao data, German offshore wind turbines produced approximately 26.1 million megawatt-hours of electricity. Theoretically, this amount would have been sufficient to meet the needs of 8.7 million households with an annual consumption of 3,000 kilowatt-hours.
