Germany has so far presented a mixed picture when it comes to the expansion of renewables: Things are going reasonably well in the photovoltaic sector, while wind energy is lagging far behind what is needed. "More permits are needed, especially in southern Germany," comments Markus W. Voigt, CEO of the aream Group. "Otherwise the targets will be missed by a wide margin."

According to the Federal Network Agency, 1,071 MW of photovoltaic capacity was added in February - in the same month last year, the figure was only around 900 MW. In addition, the February expansion could still increase due to late registrations. This means that photovoltaics has made a good start to the year, with new installations totaling 1,423 MW in January. "However, the pace still needs to pick up a little," says Voigt. After all, 1,580 MW would have to be added every month to reach the target of 215 GW in 2030.

Compared to solar energy, wind energy is dragging its feet. In February, the net expansion on land amounted to only 220 MW, in January it was even less (134 MW). To achieve the target of 115 GW in 2030, 653 MW of new capacity would be required per month. In the first two months of the year, the strongest growth in wind energy was in Schleswig-Holstein, Brandenburg and NRW. Voigt therefore believes that the southern federal states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Saxony in particular have a duty to expand and accelerate approvals.

March was rather poor for wind energy in the aream portfolio in Germany. Very little wind led to yields well below expectations, and there was also gearbox damage, which cost around 700 MWh of output. As a result, only just under 75% of the production target was achieved in March. "Looking at the year as a whole, however, the wind portfolio is on track after the first quarter with a target achievement of 95%," says Voigt.

The production of photovoltaic systems in the aream portfolio was stable in Germany. March brought a slightly below-average performance with above-average hours of sunshine (target achievement 102%). The systems in Spain delivered a good performance with significantly below-average hours of sunshine (target achievement 78%). In Italy, irradiation values were normal and performance was slightly below average (95%).