Juwi boss says German offshore plans face trouble on land

German electricity cables and turbines

Germany is wildly overestimating its ability to build grid links to accommodate its offshore wind ambitions, says the boss of the country’s leading onshore wind developer.

“The problem with offshore wind in Germany is the power will not be produced where it’s needed,” says Juwi Wind managing director Marie-Luise Pörtner, who thinks modernising onshore turbines is a better option.

“We have these huge offshore wind targets, but nobody has ever explained how they are going to get the electricity down from the north to where the load centres are in the south,” Pörtner tells Recharge.

“We’re not going to be able to build tens of thousands of pylons across Germany — that’s going to be impossible. And…

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