Thomas Linnemann, Consultant of VGB PowerTech e.V., Essen

On Tuesday, 14 May 2019, a lecture event entitled "Wind energy in Germany and Europe - status, potential and challenges in the basic electricity supply" took place in the evening at PreussenElektra GmbH in Hanover, which was attended by around 40 participants.

After a brief welcome by Dr Fuchs on behalf of the host PreussenElektra, Dr Roos, deputy speaker of the Northern Section, took over the further moderation of the evening and introduced the speaker Mr Thomas Linnemann, speaker of VGB PowerTech e.V., Essen.

Mr Linnemann and his colleague Mr Vallana had carried out extensive studies on the feed-in behaviour of wind turbines in Germany and Europe.

The cumulative nominal capacity of the wind turbine fleet in Germany has increased more than twelvefold in the last 18 years to 56,000 megawatts (MW) by the end of 2017. Together with 17 other European countries, the cumulative nominal capacity in Europe even increased 18-fold to almost 170,000 MW at the same time. This means that Germany alone has a good third of Europe's total wind turbine capacity. 

To ensure a reliable power supply, power and energy must be provided in line with demand, a capability that wind turbines have to a limited extent depending on the wind supply. The presentation summarised operational experience with wind power production in Germany since 2010 and in 17 other European countries since 2015 and explored, among other things, the question of whether there are sufficient mutual balancing options in a Germany-wide or Europe-wide grid network in line with the motto "the wind is always blowing somewhere". Mr Linnemann was able to present this complex topic in a clear, lively and well-founded manner. 

The one-hour presentation was followed by a lively discussion in which Mr Linnemann explained further details and provided references to other studies.

The KTG-NORD section would like to thank Mr Linnemann and everyone else involved for their contributions to this very successful event.

You can find the slides of the presentation here!

Further links on the topic:

VGB Wind Study, Part 1
VGB Wind Study, Part 2: