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At the Paris Climate Change Conference in 2015, 195 countries agreed to a general, legally binding global climate protection treaty aimed at limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The German government adopted the Climate Protection Plan 2050 to set itself the long-term goal of entering the future with zero greenhouse gas emissions. The 2018 coalition agreement stipulates: by 2030, renewable energies should reach 65 percent of Germany’s electricity supply. This goal can only be achieved with a significant share of offshore wind energy in electricity generation. For this reason, the German government has raised the expansion target for offshore wind energy from 15 GW to 20 GW by 2030.
Due to the long planning and lead times of the authorities involved (BNetzA, BSH, etc.), the short-term increase in the expansion goal has created an expansion gap. By 2022, no offshore wind turbines will be able to go into operation in Germany. The result is dramatic decline in revenue in the entire value chain and the loss of active players.
The project addresses this expansion gap by strengthening export business for German SMEs in the offshore wind energy sector. Offshore wind energy is also becoming increasingly important worldwide. Three of the most important target markets are Japan, Taiwan, and the USA: here, German know-how meets dynamic markets with a spirit of optimism for offshore wind energy.
The OFFSHORE-WINDENERGIE Foundation and theWorld Forum Offshore Wind (WFO), funded by the BMWi , have pooled their expertise to jointly implement coordinated and effective measures for export support to the three countries.
The project aims to provide targeted support for German offshore companies in opening up attractive export opportunities in the three focus markets and to deliver measurable results within the project term. Taking into account and in cooperation with existing instruments (e.g. export initiative energy, energy partnerships, CFTs), three specific measures will be implemented in the three countries over a period of three years.
The first step is a thorough export market analysis. A broad-based online survey provides an overview of export activities, export opportunities and barriers to enter the market in the three target markets. Subsequent in-depth interviews provide a detailed insight into relevant topics.
Parallel to this, local representative offices are established in each of the three target markets. The representatives use the information from the export market analysis and offer active, practical support for market entry, providing specific help with networking and order acquisition. The representatives are a direct link between local market players and the domestic offshore wind industry. The three offices in Tokyo, Taipei and New York are directly linked to the infrastructure of the CFTs.
Attractive trade events with all relevant stakeholders on site complete the project’s offer. Two events with current key topics and targeted networking opportunities are offered in every target market. As a flanking measure, the representatives organize links to existing formats (e.g. trade fair appearances with joint exhibition stands for effective and efficient presentation opportunities).
A win-win situation: overall, specific export orders are generated for the German offshore wind industry, emerging target markets are supported with the transfer of German technical expertise, and a relevant building block is laid for achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.
The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and will run for three years (January 2021 to December 2023).
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