Wind Energy – Longer Lifespan
According to a German study longer lifespan for Offshore Wind Farms could improve returns and reduce costs.
This result was recently posted by RWE’s Sven Utermöhlen. The study of German Fraunhofer Gesellschaft IWES claims that expanding the lifetime of offshore wind farms makes sense.
The operating licenses of the first large offshore wind farms in Germany expire around 2040. According to the current status, a one-time extension of the term by up to ten years would be possible, but not guaranteed and still associated with numerous uncertainties.
It is clear that while new wind farms installed with larger capacities promise higher yields, they put a strain on supply chains, grid connections, and ecosystems, and cause significantly higher economic costs. Continued operation can use the existing infrastructure, thus stabilizing prices and strengthening security of supply.
The study is a good starting point for this discussion. Now it is a matter of creating the regulatory basis so that continued operation does not remain a theoretical scenario, but a viable part of the energy transition.
