The end of Germany’s first offshore wind farm - Alpha Ventus - Germans paying a markup of 1,000% for their electricity?
From here:
https://www.powerinfotoday.com/europe/alpha-ventus-wind-park-germany/
“The project was undertaken to boost the development of offshore wind energy in Germany. It is composed of 12 turbines that will together generate 60MW. The farm is capable of powering 50,000 households.”
“The project was developed by the consortium Deutsche Offshore-Testfeld und Infrastruktur (DOTI). The consortium was formed in June 2006 by three companies: EWE (47.5%), E.ON Climate and Renewables Central Europe (26.25%) and Vattenfall Europe Windkraft (26.25%).”
Lots more detail on the companies involved in all stages of the development are in the article. For a little more context, the UK’s first offshore wind farm was built in 2003 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Hoyle_Offshore_Wind_Farm
From here:
“The total amount invested by the utilities Eon, Vattenfall and EWE, as well as the Federal Government, rose from the planned €190 million to €250 million.”
The wind farm has a maximum output of 60 MW - which was judged sufficient for 50,000 German homes.
From Brave AI:
“The electricity output of the Alpha Ventus wind farm has varied based on wind conditions. For example, in 2011 to 2014, the wind farm achieved 16,582 full capacity hours and generated 994.9 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity.2 In 2012, it generated 267.8 GWh, which was higher than expected.3 The capacity factor of the wind farm was reported to be between 50% and 55% in 2011 and 2012.”
16,582 bull capacity hours times 60 MW = 994,920 MWH = 994.2 GWH - call it 330 GWH a year.
Here’s where it gets interesting.
From here:
“The subsidy meant that the Alpha Ventus wind farm got 15.4 cents per kilowatt hour after being put in operation.”
Now that the subsidy has run out, the wind farm operators receive only the basic tariff of 3.9 cents per kilowatt hour, thus making the farm unprofitable.”
The price that German households actually pay for electricity from Brave AI:
“As of December 2024, the electricity price for medium-size households in Germany was EUR0.40 per kilowatt-hour according to EUROSTAT data.”
Sell to households at 0.400 Euros per kwh - actual unsubsidized price paid to producers of electricity = 0.039 Euros per kwh - and the previous subsidized price paid to wind farm operators was 0.139 Euros per kwh!
Now why would (or should) German households pay a markup of TEN TIMES the wholesale price of electricity production without subsidies - let alone the THREE TIMES the subsidized price?
Of course, this scheme has been running for 15 years in Germany for offshore wind. ?!
Offshore wind farms have been running since 2003 in the UK. No signs of taking these down!?!
From Brave AI:
“This information was last updated in March 2025, and historically, the price for medium-size households in Germany reached a record high of EUR0.41 per kilowatt-hour in December 2023 and a record low of EUR0.24 per kilowatt-hour in December 2010.”
Surprise! Cheapest when the wind project kicked in, in Germany’s mud flats.
I wonder what the unsubsidised price of electricity is in the UK. Impossible to find out of course - the bureaucrats and “net zero” political freaks have made sure of that!
By the way, still looking for answers to this question:
Only six months gone! Even the price of Natural Gas is exploited by energy companies!
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