Germany to build 40 offshore wind turbines

Germany today announced plans to build 40 more offshore wind farms in a move that would create 30,000 jobs.

Transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said the new turbines in the North and Baltic seas will cement Germany's lead as Europe's greenest country.

The wind farms will be built in German waters more than 12 miles off the coast. Together they would produce more than 12,000 megawatts of power — enough to supply 12 million households.

"This would bring us closer to our goal of producing 25,000 megawatts offshore by 2030," Tiefensee said.

Of the 40 wind farms planned, 30 would be in the North Sea and 10 in the Baltic Sea. Twenty-two have already received government approval and Berlin intends to set aside some 100 square kilometres for offshore power projects.

Billions of euros need to be invested in offshore wind farms over the next few years if the European Union is to hit its target of generating 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2020, an industry lobby group said today.

Some 57 billion (£49.9 billion) is needed to build offshore wind farms and 20-30 billion to build new grid infrastructure, according to the European Wind Energy Association.