The expansion of renewable energies in Germany - wind turbines and solar parks: progress and challenges - creative image: xpert.digital
Challenges and successes: the contradictory reality of the German energy transition
Transformation under pressure: Germany between energy transition and resistance
The German energy transition shows a complex picture of ambitious goals, considerable progress and considerable challenges. While Germany has remarkable success in the expansion of wind turbines, the closer look reveals regional resistances, area use conflicts and economic hurdles. This multi -layered situation shapes the current transformation of the German energy system and deserves a differentiated analysis.
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Exposure status and targets of the energy transition
The energy transition represents one of the central projects of German climate protection policy. With the ambitious goal of increasing the proportion of renewable energies to 80 percent by 2030, the Federal Government has anchored concrete expansion goals in the Renewable Energy Energy Act (EEG) and in the Wind Energy-on-Sea Act. By 2030, the installed performance of wind turbines to 145 gigawatts is to be more than doubled and even reach 230 gigawatts by 2045. For the solar energy, the goals are even more ambitious: 215 gigawatts by 2030 and 400 gigawatts by 2045.
However, the actual expansion numbers show a mixed picture. In 2024, the annual goal of wind power could not be reached - the installed performance remained 4.9 gigawatts below the desired value. The solar energy, on the other hand, exceeded expectations and was able to exceed the annual goal by a remarkable 11.8 gigawatt. The first figures from 2025 indicate persistent challenges: by the beginning of March, only wind turbines with an output of 0.4 gigawatts were built, which corresponds to about five percent of the target of 9.2 gigawatts. So far, systems with a total output of 2.5 gigawatts have been installed in solar energy, which is about 14 percent of the annual goal of 18 gigawatts.
Despite this discrepancy between goals and actual implementation, there are positive signals for the future. The year 2024 marked a milestone in the permits for wind turbines. By mid -December, permits for almost 2,000 wind turbines with an impressive total output of around 11.3 gigawatts were given - a historical high. This corresponds to an increase of 48 percent compared to the previous year. North Rhine-Westphalia (3.4 gigawatt), Lower Saxony (1.6 gigawatt) as well as Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania appear as a pioneer.
Regional resistances and structural challenges
Despite the positive overall development in the permits of wind turbines, there are considerable regional differences and resistance. This becomes particularly clear in South Thuringia, where the regional planning community, led by Michael Brodführer (CDU), has not to be shown any new priority areas for wind turbines until further notice. The underlying problem is complex: the wind ranking of the wind that is required by the federal government and the country from currently 600 hectares to around 8,000 hectares by 2032 is considered unrealistic. In addition, it is argued that the existing power grid is not designed for such a capacity expansion.
These structural challenges are reinforced by local civil protests. This is an example of the planned wind farm northeast of Tambach-Dietharz in Thuringia, which consists of massive resistance. The project provides for an area of 284 hectares up to twenty wind turbines with a height of up to 250 meters. The citizens' initiative “No wind power in the forest” has already collected more than 5,000 signatures against this project, which illustrates the deep anchoring of resistance in the local population.
Brodführer demand for more realistic guidelines that are based on the actual energy needs of the region and can be supported by municipalities and residents, reflects a fundamental area of tension: On the one hand, there is a need for an accelerated expansion of renewable energies to achieve the national climate targets, on the other hand, this expansion reaches local reservations and infrastructural limits.
Land use conflicts and social acceptance
The debate about the expansion of renewable energies is also shaped by questions of land use. The comparison between the use of space through renewable energy systems and golf courses provides an interesting perspective. Studies show that in many industrialized countries, including Germany, golf courses claim more space than wind farms and solar systems. This knowledge raises fundamental questions about the social prioritization of land use.
The discussion received attention in Great Britain in 2022 when the Environmental Organization Greenpeace UK pointed out that golf courses take an area of 1,256 square kilometers, while solar parks only claim 230 square kilometers. This comparison illustrates that there are considerable surface reserves that could theoretically be used for the energy transition, but currently serve a leisure activity with a comparatively low social effect.
Researchers emphasize that golf courses not only need large areas, but also cause significant environmental impacts due to intensive lawn care, high water consumption and the use of chemical sprays. These ecological costs have a remarkable contrast to the often expressed criticism of the landscape change through wind power and solar systems. The comparison of these different land uses stimulates a social discussion about which priorities should be set in land use if ambitious climate protection goals are to be achieved at the same time.
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Economic hurdles and technical challenges
In addition to the area -related and social aspects, economic factors are another central challenge for the expansion of renewable energies. In particular, network fees play a decisive role in the profitability of photovoltaic systems. These fees that are collected for the use of the power grid can significantly influence the profitability of solar systems and thus significantly shape investment decisions.
The situation further tightened in 2024, since the previous grant from the economic stabilization fund has dropped of 5.5 billion euros. This leads to a higher financial burden on the network operators, who are reflected in rising fees for consumers. The increased costs reduce the profitability of photovoltaic systems and can deter potential investors, which conflicts the goal of an accelerated expansion of renewable energies.
Another fundamental problem of solar energy is its unreliability. Since the sun does not seem around the clock, the efficient generation of electricity depends on continuous sunlight. In order to counter this problem, energy storage systems are essential that can store excess energy during sunny hours. However, these technologies, such as batteries or pumped storage power plants, are expensive and require careful planning. However, the integration of various renewable energy sources, such as the combination of solar and wind energy, represents a further approach to overcoming this challenge, requires corresponding network capacity and flexibility.
Perspectives and solutions for the future
Despite the diverse challenges, experts are optimistic that the expansion of renewable energies in Germany will take up speed. The wind energy industry is satisfied with the development in the permits and speaks of an “absolute year of success” 2024. Bärbel Heidebroek, President of the Federal Association of Wind Energy, emphasizes that the reforms of the Federal Government are noticeable and that from the end of 2025 the increased approval figures should also become visible when expansion.
Jürgen Quentin from the Wind and Solar University of Applied Sciences even sees the increased number of approval as a fundamental turnaround as a result of the legal changes by the previous traffic light government. This positive assessment gives hope that the discrepancy between permits and the actual expansion will decrease in the coming years.
In order to overcome the regional resistors, a differentiated approach appears that takes into account the local circumstances and needs. This could mean adapting regional expansion goals to the existing network capacities and increasingly investing in network expansion. In addition, participative planning approaches that involve citizens at an early stage and open up opportunities to participate in the projects could increase acceptance.
Balance between ambition and reality
The expansion of renewable energies in Germany is at a turning point. The ambitious goals of the Federal Government meet diverse challenges - from regional resistors to land use conflicts to economic and technical hurdles. At the same time, the record numbers for the permits for wind turbines show that the legal framework has been effectively improved.
The future of the energy transition will depend on the extent to which it is possible to find a balance between national climate goals and local realities. A successful transformation process not only requires technical solutions and regulatory adjustments, but also a social dialogue about priorities in the use of land and a fair distribution of loads and benefits of the energy transition. Only if it succeeds in reconciling ecological necessities, economic interests and social acceptance, can the energy transition in Germany become successful and actually take a pioneering role in Europe.
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