New wind turbine designs offer benefits to power supply

In the next few decades, wind power will play a major role in German power supply. According to the Grid Development Plan’s lead scenario, Germany will get a third of its kilowatt-hours from wind turbines by 2023. This outcome will pose entirely new challenges for the power supply system. It is crucial that transparency be created so that these challenges can be detected and addressed quickly. Agora Energiewende therefore contracted the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology (Fraunhofer IWES) of Kassel to collate the latest findings on wind power trends in Germany in a short study. The findings reveal that wind power has made great strides in the past few years. Turbines being built today generate more power than those set up in the early years. Wind turbines are also being developed with taller hub heights so that wind power can be generated in areas with lower wind velocities. The yields of different design options for wind turbines were simulated in detail at several locations in Germany across the course of a year. It turns out that more constant power production is possible if the wind turbines are optimized for the power supply system in order to reduce the challenges to the system. When locations far apart are combined, wind power production becomes more reliable overall, with positive effects for overall power supply. However, the differences in wind power production are not that great in different parts of Germany. If the wind is blowing strongly in the north over the course of a week, it often also does so in the center and in the south of the country, and the same holds true for weeks with little wind. In addition to the study, the results of the wind power production simulated at six locations in Germany are provided for all 52 weeks based on weather data for 2011. Agora Energiewende hopes that this brief study promotes further discussion about current and future trends – and about the challenges looming on the horizon. An expert discussion on the study has been taking place in Berlin on July 5.