Abstract

Onshore wind energy is of fundamental importance for the German energy system today and in the future. In the process, installed wind capacity will increase sharply on the way to a 100 % renewable electricity supply. Although renewable energies and the Energiewende project meet with broad approval within the population, citizens' movements are active in many regions to oppose the addition of more wind turbines. The scenarios from energy system modelling provide an orientation aid for decision-makers in energy policy. So far, social acceptance has not been captured in these models. In the present study, a method is developed that takes social acceptance into account in the form of a degree of impact in wind energy expansion paths. For this purpose, the area potential as well as the performance and yield potential of onshore wind energy are determined. This amounts to 27,244 km2 or 618 GW and 1,423 TWh. Based on these results, the expansion of installed capacity at the district level up to the year 2050 is modelled in three scenarios, taking social acceptance into account. The results show that the load level can be reduced by redistributing the installed capacities.

Authors

Christ, Marion; Soethe, Martin; Degel, Melanie