Derailed Progress: Germany's Coalition Government Haltats Wind Turbine Development
The wind energy sector in Germany is grappling with potential job losses, reminiscent of the collapse of the solar market in 2012-14. Up to 27 percent of the jobs directly linked to onshore wind power could be lost by 2030, according to a recent study by VDMA Power Systems.
One of the hardest hit companies is Enercon, one of the largest German wind turbine manufacturers. Enercon saw installations sink to their lowest level in 30 years in the first ten months of 2019, leading to the company cutting over 3,000 jobs or 17% of its workforce.
Rival manufacturers Vestas and Siemens Gamesa have also announced major job cuts. The embattled German wind equipment manufacturer Senvion filed for insolvency in early 2019, causing further uncertainty in the industry.
The job losses are partly due to changes in the regulatory landscape. The search results do not provide information on who passed the new regulatory package for the wind energy industry in Germany that led to significant job losses next year. The new rules for the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) were expected before the end of 2019, but German environment minister Svenja Schulze said in late December that too many questions remained unresolved to reach an agreement before 2020. Chancellor Merkel said the new law was likely to be decided on by her cabinet in March.
Berlin is planning to pump billions of euros into regions that will lose jobs due to the country's planned exit from coal and lignite, but no aid is being offered to the wind industry. Senvion CEO Yves Rannou fears the German wind industry might face the same grim fate as the country's solar panel manufacturers if nothing changes.
In 2019, the wind energy sector in Germany lost approximately 30,000 to 40,000 jobs. With the uncertainties surrounding the new regulatory framework and the lack of government support, the industry faces a challenging future.
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