Germany’s coalition government said it will move "quickly" to advance extra tenders for 8GW of onshore wind and solar, plus another offshore wind round, pledging to meet increasingly urgent demands for action from the nation’s renewables sector.

The ruling coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU, along with the CSU and SPD, will bring before the German Cabinet by the end of the month measures to hold 4GW each of wind and PV auctions in 'special tenders' split equally over 2019 and 2020.

There will also be an extra offshore wind round of an unspecified size, said a statement from the partners.

The government said the measures are needed to help Germany meet its 2020 climate goals, and to set it on course to meet its expanded 65% renewables target for 2030.

The news comes after months of lobbying by the wind and other renewables sectors demanding that the government push ahead with the tenders, which were first proposed as long ago as February amid talks to form the coalition.

The German wind industry argues future new onshore capacity is desperately needed amid a looming installation dip, partly caused by the design of the first tenders held in the country that opened a lengthy hiatus in project installations.

As recently as last week at the Global Wind Summit in Hamburg, ministers from five northern German states urged the government to keep its promises.

Some 5,000 jobs have already been lost in Germany’s wind sector or are acutely threatened, the states warned.