Welcome to www.offshore-wind.de.

You will find a lot of valuable and interesting information about offshore wind energy on our pages. The Deutsche Energie-Agentur (dena) will be regularly compiling data and updating these pages for you.

Electrical power from offshore wind farms can and should make an important contribution to future energy and climate policies in Germany. Average wind forces at sea are high enough to promise an enormous potential in energy. Modern wind power technology, now so reliable and cost-effective on land, will enable us to exploit this potential.

Stormy development of offshore wind energy raises many questions

Happily, the development of offshore wind energy in Germany is going through a very dynamic phase right now. Interested businesses have already applied for a number of licences to build and operate large offshore wind farms, mostly within Germany's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

But many problems remain unsolved. Marine areas suitable for wind farms must be relatively distant from the coast to respect the immense importance of nature reserves. The extensive use of the North Sea by shipping, fisheries and the German Navy further limit the available options. Planners, grid operators and government authorities also face new challenges in connecting offshore wind farms to the power grid network. Not least, the legal situation is complex because the federal and state governments have different areas of responsibility regarding the licensing of wind farms and cables.