Germany’s Federal Network Agency has launched a tender process for two areas in the North Sea with a combined offshore wind capacity of 2,500 MW.
Bids must be submitted by 1 June 2024. After checking the bids, carrying out the award process, and, if necessary, carrying out the dynamic bidding process, the bidders will be informed of the decision and the tender results will be published.
The two areas, N-11.2 and N-12.3, for offshore wind farms include one 1,500 MW site and a 1,000 MW zone, located in the North Sea, approximately 120 kilometres northwest of Helgoland. The wind farms are scheduled to go into operation in 2031.
The areas have not been investigated by the state and therefore the successful bidders will have to carry out the investigations on their own, according to the agency.
The bidder who reports the lowest need for funding for an offshore wind farm on the site will be awarded the contract , according to the agency.
If several bidders forego funding for an area and submit bids with a bid value of zero cents per kilowatt hour, a so-called dynamic bidding procedure will be used as in 2023. The bidder with the highest willingness to pay will then be awarded the contract, said the Federal Network Agency.
In addition to these tenders, the Federal Network Agency will launch further tenders for offshore wind by 1 March 2024. The tenders concern three areas that have been centrally examined by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency with a total output of 5,500 MW.
In the tenders for areas not previously examined centrally in 2023, the implementation of the dynamic bidding process resulted in total proceeds of EUR 12.6 billion whereas 90 per cent of those proceeds go towards reducing electricity costs, according to the press release.
Last year, Germany’s Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) published a new area development plan for the expansion of offshore wind energy.
The plan maps out the build-out of offshore wind by 2030, by when the country is to reach 30 GW of capacity connected to its grid, and sets the stage for further deployment of wind turbines at sea, with the 2035 target of 40 GW estimated to be exceeded.