Germany to sell offshore wind concessions after multiple zero bids

Germany is to auction four offshore wind concessions with 7 GW combined capacity to the highest bidder after multiple zero bids were received in the first round, regulator BNetzA said June 15.

The auction will now move to a "dynamic bidding" process with the regulator preparing the second round in a "timely" manner in the near future.

"The results of the first round are good news for the energy transition in Germany," said BNetzA President Klaus Mueller.

Three 2-GW wind farms in the North Sea and a 1-GW concession in the Baltic Sea are being tendered.

BNetzA in its Feb. 1 tender call reduced the bid steps for the second round from an initially Eur150,000 to Eur30,000, with 90% of any income going towards reducing power bills.

The four concessions will be tendered synchronously with multiple rounds each day done in an electronic format, BNetzA said.

For the first time, the auction is for areas of the seabed without any previous site investigation, but includes a grid connection guarantee by 2030.

At stake is investment of about Eur20 billion, based on recent capital expenditure costs for offshore wind projects in Germany.

BNetzA did not provide any further details about first round participants, but the tender with a June 1 deadline likely attracted some of Europe's largest utilities, developers and oil majors.

Platts-assessed capture prices for German offshore wind averaged Eur81.04/MWh in May. Platts is part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.