Where Germany actually stands
Germany has oscillated between being Europe's most aggressive wind market and effectively closing itself off, with a policy cycle driven by the merit-order effect and the Federal Transmission System. The recent years make that pattern clear.
| Year | New onshore capacity (GW) | Driver |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 5.8 | Strong year, EEG reform, recovery from 2020 |
| 2022 | 6.3 | Acceleration, permitting reform ("Osterpaket") |
| 2023 | 6.6 | Growth, but the market produced severe negative power prices in some regions |
| 2024 | 3.4 | Sharp fall. Negative prices and the end of the post-crisis price guarantee deterred investment |
| 2025 | ~11 | Recovery. Negative pricing largely over, faster permitting, strong corporate PPA demand |
| 2026 (forecast) | 10 - 14 | Continued build-out, and the repurposing period begins in earnest |
The installed base is the more important number for anyone supplying the sector. Germany has around 39-41 GW of onshore wind installed, roughly 24,000 turbines, built predominantly between 2005 and 2018. The installed base is a large and largely reliable O&M market, and it is ageing.
The repowering wave is the real commercial signal
Most of the German onshore fleet is 10-20 years old. A typical 2 MW turbine from 2006 is now beyond its design life, faces a substantially worse availability profile, and cannot compete on generation cost against a modern 4-6 MW machine on the same site.
What repowering removes and what it requires
Repowering replaces the turbine and typically reuses the foundation, the crane pad, the grid connection and the land agreement. It does not need new planning consent in the way a new site does, which is the decisive advantage - German permitting is the binding constraint on new capacity. That is why repowering will expand faster than new build in most scenarios.
The volume of it
Reasonable estimates put German repowering demand at roughly 1.2 to 2.0 GW per year from 2026 through the mid-2030s, subject to permitting reform and to how operators value the alternative of simply building new. That is on the order of 200-350 turbines per year, each requiring de-commissioning, civil work, a new turbine, grid reconnection and a new O&M contract.
What it means for suppliers
Each repowering removes a 2 MW turbine from the O&M pool and adds a 4-6 MW machine. For an O&M provider, that is a net loss of a familiar contract and a need to win a new one with a new provider. For a component supplier, it is a demand shift toward larger, heavier components with different failure modes. For a crane and heavy-lift company, it is volume. For anyone selling genuine availability and uptime to asset owners, the market is expanding as operators run fewer but larger machines with tighter availability guarantees.
The O&M market in numbers
| Segment | Market size indication | Growth direction |
|---|---|---|
| Full-scope onshore O&M | EUR 500m - 700m annually across the German fleet | Growing slowly in value, shrinking in turbine count |
| Repowering project management | EUR 400m+ cumulatively over the next decade | Strong growth |
| Major component exchange (gearboxes, generators, blades) | EUR 300m - 500m annually | Strong growth, and the highest-margin work in the sector |
| Remote monitoring and analytics | EUR 80m - 130m | Strong growth, consolidating toward the OEMs |
| Offshore O&M (North Sea, Baltic) | EUR 700m - 1.1bn | Strong growth, driven by the 2030 targets and the Baltic build-out |
| Decommissioning and site remediation | Emerging, EUR 100m+ | Growing from a small base, very long lead times |
Who is winning turbine share
| Manufacturer | Onshore position | Strategy and note |
|---|---|---|
| Enercon | German, strongly defended at home | Direct-drive, no gearbox. Trademarketed heavily and largely absent from the southern German market where competitors are entrenched. Strong political visibility |
| Nordex | Strong overall, gained via Delta Wind | Gearbox and direct-drive platforms. Good value positioning in the mid-size segment |
| Siemens Gamesa | Very strong in onshore, plus the offshore franchise | The broadest German onshore installed base and the reference for offshore. Corporate ownership has made some buyers cautious about long-term support |
| Vestas | Strong, but wind Germany is not its core | Best-in-class availability figures; the service argument is strong |
| Senvion | Reduced, now offshore and select onshore | Has exited much of its German onshore business |
| Nordex / Senvion rivals from China | Minimal in onshore Germany | Goldwind, Envision and MingYang have essentially no German onshore installed base, and German permitting and grid connection make entry slow |
The constraint that decides the next three years
German onshore wind has an awkward structural problem: the country has the lowest average wind speeds in western Europe, which means higher LCOE than the North Sea or the Baltic, and the lowest electricity prices as a consequence. Any permitting reform that accelerates build-out therefore accelerates the cannibalisation of revenue per megawatt across the fleet. Operators are being squeezed from two directions at once.
Three policy variables will determine the shape of the next three years:
- Permitting reform. Germany has implemented a permitting acceleration act and has moved to a "one-stop shop" model under a new permitting authority. Whether it changes throughput is the single biggest unknown.
- Negative price thresholds. The rules permitting negative power prices have been tightened several times, which has improved project economics. The direction of travel matters more than the current level.
- Grid connection and the hydrogen question. Grid connection queue reform is ongoing. A major green hydrogen build-out would create substantial additional offtake demand and change the whole commercial picture for developers.
What this means if you are buying from Germany
Wind component and service supply from Germany is genuinely deep. If you need:
- Turbine spare parts - Enercon, Nordex, Siemens Gamesa and Vestas all maintain German-based parts operations, and the independent aftermarket is substantial.
- Gearbox supply or overhaul - this is the highest-value and most constrained item in the sector, with a small number of capable European overhaulers.
- Blade supply and repair - a genuine German specialism, including the repair of large blades in situ.
- O&M contract covering a specific model - the providers holding OEM authorisation for your exact model are a short list, and that is a sourcing problem worth solving properly rather than a procurement exercise.
Tell us the turbine model, the component or the service you need, and we will identify the German suppliers who are genuinely capable, with current capability and lead time. Free for buyers.
Related reading
- Germany onshore wind energy market report 2026
- German wind energy 2025 market report
- Choosing a German wind turbine O&M provider
- Wind turbine gearbox suppliers in Germany
- Offshore wind farm maintenance companies in Europe
Frequently asked questions
How much wind capacity was installed in Germany in 2025?
Approximately 11 GW of new onshore wind was installed in 2025, which was Germany's strongest year since 2012. This followed a sharp fall to around 3.4 GW in 2024, driven by severe negative power prices in some bidding regions and the expiry of price guarantees. The 2025 recovery reflected the end of widespread negative pricing, faster permitting under the reform programme, and strong corporate power purchase agreement demand.
How many wind turbines are installed in Germany?
Germany has an installed base of roughly 39 to 41 GW of onshore wind across approximately 24,000 turbines, the majority built between 2005 and 2018. The total including offshore is higher. The installed base is ageing, and the large cohort installed in the mid-2000s is now at or beyond its 20-year design life, which is what drives the repowering pipeline.
What is wind turbine repowering and how much is planned?
Repowering replaces an ageing turbine with a modern, larger machine while reusing the existing foundation, crane pad, grid connection and land agreement. Because it avoids the permitting burden of a new site, it is expected to expand faster than new build. Estimates put German repowering demand at roughly 1.2 to 2.0 GW per year from 2026 through the mid-2030s, or 200 to 350 turbines annually.
Which turbine manufacturers have the largest German market share?
Enercon, Siemens Gamesa, Nordex and Vestas hold the large majority of the German onshore market, with Enercon particularly strong and trademarketed in northern and eastern Germany. Siemens Gamesa has the broadest overall installed base and the leading offshore franchise. Vestas competes principally on availability performance, and Senvion has withdrawn from much of the German onshore market. Chinese manufacturers have essentially no German onshore installed base.
How much does wind turbine O&M cost in Germany?
Full-scope onshore O&M runs approximately EUR 90,000 to 160,000 per turbine per year in 2026 for a modern machine, rising to EUR 210,000 for older small-hub turbines. Offshore contracts run EUR 320,000 to 650,000 per turbine per year because of vessel and crew access costs. Measured across the whole German fleet, the onshore O&M market is worth roughly EUR 500 to 700 million annually, with offshore at EUR 700 million to 1.1 billion.