What will be important in 2022 and what must happen by 2030

In an online discussion conducted by WAB Managing Director Heike Winkler this week, political decision-makers from northern Germany offered their thoughts on the question: “Offshore wind and ‘green’ hydrogen – what will be significant in 2022 and what must happen by 2030?” K. Vogt, Bremen Senator for Economics, Labor, and Europe, O. Lies, Lower Saxony Minister for Environment, Energy, Building, and Climate Protection, and T. Goldschmidt, State Secretary in the Ministry for Energy Transition, Agriculture, Environment, Nature, and Digitization of the state of Schleswig-Holstein were all invited to the WAB regulars’ table.

“After a dip in recent years, the offshore wind sector is facing a tremendous challenge with the federal government’s new ambitions for development to 30 gigawatts by 2030 and 40 gigawatts by 2035,” said WAB eV CEO Jens Assheuer. Simultaneously, he views the required expenditures as a great opportunity, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses. “As WAB, we are delighted to accompany and support our members as they take advantage of this opportunity,” Assheuer adds. It’s about “not just replicating the boom that we have had, but topping it” with the speed that’s now necessary.

In an impulsive contribution, Bremen Senator for Economic Affairs K. Vogt also stated that he expects the offshore wind sector to “rebirth at a high level.” To meet the new offshore wind ambitions, the offshore wind sector would have to build an average of 3 GW each year over a 20-year period, a considerable increase over the previous record year. For future expansion, a “assembly line system” is now required. Furthermore, the loss of skilled people and consequently know-how that has occurred as a result of the recent growth gap must be rapidly compensated for. Even if hydrogen must be imported to a great amount, the North German collaboration in the hydrogen plan is correct, Vogt continued. She views German production to be indispensable for strategic reasons. The hydrogen economy can only be developed and sector coupling exploited best if there is a domestic generation market and the appropriate plant building expertise. The hydrogen economy presents a huge chance to generate value if the requisite infrastructure and projects can be built fast, notably for CO2 reduction in industry. To proceed more quickly, the government must first support investment needs.

Offshore wind energy, according to Lower Saxony’s Environment and Energy Minister Lies, can help the federal government achieve its goal of being climate-neutral by 2045. This will necessitate network growth, which must be planned as a network rather than merely a link between two points. An crucial step is to evaluate the future expansion of electricity and hydrogen networks in tandem, as well as to decide where hydrogen may be generated optimally. The need for line extension must be stated thoroughly. To expedite approval processes, energy ministers should consider whether it makes sense to “question everything again” in coastal waters following a spatial planning approach in the subsequent plan approval phase.

State Secretary Goldschmidt of the Kiel Energy Transition spoke out in support of bundling lines in “hubs” and producing hydrogen where the power is landed to reduce the need for transmission. Northern Germany is largely concerned with large-scale hydrogen production. Nobody wants to ban the south from operating hydrogen electrolyzers, but Goldschmidt says that will “not happen in the gigawatt range.” The offshore wind expansion of 30 GW by 2030, according to Goldschmidt, is mostly about speed, but the long-term expansion of 70 GW by 2045 is primarily about protected assets. The debate over co-use is crucial since there are compelling reasons for environmental protection and fishing interests. It will be a matter of overcoming departmental thinking and finding effective solutions in the future to fulfill the expansion goals.

“The course for climate protection, further expansion of the offshore wind value chain, and development of a ‘green’ hydrogen economy can only be set expediently in close dialogue between the offshore wind industry and politicians at the required speed,” concludes WAB Managing Director Heike Winkler. “Right now, the open and productive conversation between WAB members and political decision-makers in Bremen, Lower Saxony, and Schleswig-Holstein is especially crucial,” Winkler adds.