Savings potential for material requirements through repowering in the German wind power expansion

Germany’s wind power sector faces increasing pressure from aging fleets and ambitious expansion targets. Repowering could curtail the primary material demand through reusing components. This study employs a dynamic material flow analysis from 1988 to 2050 to quantify resource requirements for capacity expansion to evaluate the material-saving potential of repowering. The results show that the extent of reuse in repowering is a primary lever of material efficiency. Repowering without reuse accelerates material throughput and results in the highest cumulative demand. Strategies that deepen the extent of reuse yield substantial material savings. In the offshore sector, reusing infrastructure and using modern turbines reduces demand for concrete, copper, and polymers by 11–15 %. Onshore, partial repowering proves most effective, lowering aggregate demand for copper, steel, and aluminum by 7–14 %. Consequently, stakeholders should prioritize partial, reuse-intensive repowering pathways to balance capacity expansion, area efficiency, and resource conservation.