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Wind power

Wind power in Germany is leading the way in the field of renewable electricity generation. In 2021, around 35 TWh of wind power were supplied across the 50Hertz grid area, with 31 TWh and 4 TWh of this total generated by onshore and offshore wind turbines, respectively.

Information about the installed wind power capacity across the 50Hertz grid area can be found here.

Wind power

Wind turbines are the most important form of renewable energy exploitation, generating electricity both on land (onshore) and in the open sea (offshore). Very simply put, they work as wind mills combined with a dynamo: the wind makes the rotor turn and this movement is transformed into electrical energy by a generator.
The first wind turbines were already used for electricity generation in the early 20th century. Nevertheless, the worldwide interest in electricity generation by means of wind turbines only began to increase significantly after the oil crises of the 1970s. The development of the large renewable installations that are now common, began in the 1990s and has shown a strongly rising trend that continues to this day. This is due to requirements coming into force within the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) in the year 2000.

Unlike conventional power plants or renewable biomass installations, the electricity generation from wind energy fluctuates and strongly depending on the weather conditions. Unfortunately, the generational capacity from wind turbines rarely matches the electricity demand at the time. Depending on the wind speed, the volume of electricity generated by wind turbines varies and due to requiring large open spaces for efficient generation, turbines are often found in sparsely populated areas with a correspondingly low electricity demand.

Verstärkung, Bestandsleitung, Exkursion, Projektdokumentation, Landschaft, Freileitung
Overhead line Röhrsdorf-Remptendorf 2015. Photo: Jan Pauls

The operators of the German energy supply grids are obliged by the EEG to feed in all electricity generated from renewable sources into the grid with a high priority. In order to maintain the balance between offer and demand, 50Hertz (as transmission system operator, TSO) has to compensate for the fluctuations in generational capacity which, at times, can be considerable.
As the TSO is responsible for the grid area in the eastern German states and Hamburg, 50Hertz ensures the permanent balance between the electricity offered and demanded - and therefore maintains a constant grid frequency, which is a decisive factor for supply security.

Below, you will find a summary relating to wind power in the 50Hertz grid area.

Grid area of 50Hertz Transmission: wind power specifications 2016 to 2021

Description201620172018201920202021
Maximum wind power infeed13,398 MW14,266 MW15,672 MW16,050 MW16,270 MW16,728 MW
Minimum wind power infeed25 MW5 MW11 MW22 MW3 MW5 MW
Largest quarter-hourly jump in wind power+2,130 MW / -2,487 MW+1,022 MW / -702 MW+918 MW / -1,039 MW+1,849 MW /-899 MW+1,687 MW / -1,754 MW1,179 MW / 1,344 MW
Largest hourly jump in wind power+3,107 MW / -3,137 MW+2,468 MW / -2,415 MW+3,069 MW / -3,042 MW+2,736 MW /-2,601 MW+3,190 MW /-2,655 MW3,230 MW / -3,562 MW
Largest daily jump caused by wind power+8,382 MW+10,333 MW+13,220 MW+13,030 MW14,030 MW13,878 MW
Installed capacity of wind power plants onshore at the end of the year16,791 MW17,866 MW18,346 MW18,711 MW19,138 MW19,748 MW
Installed capacity of wind power plants offshore at the end of the year336 MW690 MW1,068 MW1,068 MW1,068 MW1,093 MW

The data from the table refer to wind power generational capacity, including direct marketing, and are based on the extrapolation of the actual figures (15 minute mean capacity figures).

The following forecasted and extrapolated data show the wind power being fed into the 50Hertz grid area.

These data are of particular interest for market players such as wind power electricity traders and direct marketers, but also for associations, politics or universities, which is why 50Hertz makes them publically available.

Current forecast

Current activity value: MW
Date:

The forecast values for wind power feed-in to the 50Hertz grid area are based on values from service providers. The data provided is always those of 09:00 hrs the previous day and the publication takes place daily at 18:00 hrs for the entire following 24 hours.

Based on the weather models (e.g. GFS, ECMWF) and the master data (geographic coordinates, address etc.) of the individual PV installations, physical as well as statistical capacities are calculated for the near future of up to eight days.

Forecast values per 15 minutes

For each 15 minute duration, a capacity value is supplied in megawatts (MW). A quarter of an hour for which no values are given, is entered as ‘not available’ (n.a.).

No data available.
Datum Von Bis Summe [MW] Onshore [MW] Offshore [MW]
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A table of the wind power feed-in values, including past values, is available here for download in CSV Format:

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Extrapolation

Current activity value: MW
Date:
Extrapolated actuals per 15 minutes

The actual (onshore & offshore) wind power feed-in values in the 50Hertz grid area presented in the chart are determined by extrapolation of the current measured values from selected wind farms.

The 15 minute mean from the extrapolation is published as the capacity value in megawatts (MW) for the relevant quarter of an hour. A quarter of an hour for which no values are given, is entered as ‘not available’ (n.a.) up to and including 2008, and is given -1 as value as of 2009.

No data available.
Datum Von Bis Summe [MW] Onshore [MW] Offshore [MW]
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A table, including past values, is available here for download in CSV Format:

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Here you can find our publications on wind power feed-in of the previous years:

Archive wind power

Forecast

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Extrapolation

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