The European Commission has approved state aid for the construction of 20 offshore wind farms in Germany.

Last October Germany set out plans to support building and operating the wind farms by paying operators a premium on top of the market price for electricity.

The Commission stated: “The Commission found the projects contribute to reaching Germany’s 2020 targets for renewable energy without unduly distorting competition in the single market.

 “The Commission also took into consideration these projects will enable new electricity providers to enter the German generation market. This will have a positive effect on competition.”

Three of the wind farms will be located in the Baltic Sea and the other 17 in the North Sea, with a total capacity of up to 7GW and investment amounting to €29.3 billion (£21bn).

All the offshore wind farms are expected to start producing electricity by the end of 2019.

Huong Truong