IG Metall asks for more support for wind energy

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D The German wind industry is not as bad as for years because the construction of wind farms on land and at sea is decreasing. This was reported Thursday by the Hamburg-based IG Metall Coastal District at the presentation of this year's survey of company committees. "The wind energy market is a political market, and federal policy needs to formulate and implement concrete goals for climate protection and energy transition," said Meinhard Geiken, district director. "Otherwise, the industry in Germany threatens serious damage, even the location of Hamburg as the German capital of wind energy" would be affected. "

In total, about 160,000 people in the German wind industry, about 70,000 work in the five coastal countries.On last year, about 1,600 jobs were lost in the industry. in the north.The opening of the SiemensGamesa wind turbine plant in Cuxhaven also resulted in an increase in jobs.However, the industry is currently characterized mainly by job cuts. for example, the closure of the Senvion plants in Trampe, Husum or the Powerblades subsidiary in Bremerhaven SiemensGamesa and Nordex have also lost a large number of jobs in recent months.

The agency for Bremen's Structural and Personal Development (AGS) surveyed the wind industry business committees for the fourth time this year – estimates from 32 companies with a total of about 19,800 employees. About 65% of the company committees they expect a negative market trend, which is the worst value since the beginning of the survey. An important reason for this is the call for tenders procedure for the construction of new wind farms, which has meanwhile been introduced in Germany. In this system, the bidder that generates wind energy from the newly built plant at the lowest cost receives the contract. "The impact on employees is dramatic, you feel the pressure on the costs of new tenders," Geiken said. "The wind industry loses its know-how and therefore its advantage in international competition." The wind industry continues to need its domestic market to exploit production and develop innovations. The export could offset the declines in Germany only conditionally. Due to the size and complexity of the facilities, the builders often served emerging wind energy markets directly from local generation facilities.

Geiken said the federal government needed to speed up calls for 4,000 megawatts of additional wind capacity. to ensure the use of the sector in Germany. Offshore wind has yet to be expanded by 2025 with 2,000 megawatts a year, instead of limiting the construction of offshore wind farms from 2020. "Power grids give this," said Geiken. What is also needed is an integrated system based on renewable energies to also generate heat for the building, process energy for the industry and fuels for mobility with the l & # 39; wind power.