2.5 GW offshore auction nets EUR 3bn for Germany

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(Montel) Germany raised about EUR 3bn with the auction of 2.5 GW of offshore wind tenders this month, the BNA regulator reported on Friday.

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Offshore Wind One, owned by RWE and subsidiary of TotalEnergies, bid almost EUR 2bn for a 1.5 GW site. But RWE told Montel that it plans to pull out of the project, leaving it to TotalEnergies.

Separately, German utility EnBW bid EUR 1.07bn for a 1 GW site.

The bids were for two wind park sites about 120km northwest of the North Sea island of Helgoland. Both are set to start operations in 2031.

The tenders were awarded after a negative bidding auction, which is required when multiple bidders initially put up bids of zero per kilowatt hour for a site that has not been pre-developed by the government. That leads to a second round, in which the highest bidder wins the rights.

The new bidding system only went into effect last year. It has come under criticism by concerned groups who say the system crowds out smaller, more innovative bidders and overlooks non-monetary factors that could make a bid more attractive.

Last year, Germany raised EUR 12.6bn from BP and TotalEnergies with the auction of 7 GW at seven sites.

Auction profits are to be used by the government to lower energy prices and to support protection of marine life.

Germany currently has about 8.5 GW of offshore wind capacity, with a goal of reaching 30 GW by 2030.