Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has put an offshore wind area in the North Sea out to tender. The area will support the development of up to 980 MW of capacity, and the price of the electricity is capped at EUR 64 per MWh.
The bidder with the lowest subsidy requirement for a wind farm in the area will be awarded the contract. Bids must be submitted to the Federal Network Agency by September 1, 2022.
After the bids have been checked and the award procedure has been carried out, the bidders will be informed of the decision and the results of the tender will be published.
A company that originally planned an offshore wind farm on the site has a statutory right of entry, the agency said. The completion of the wind farm is planned for 2027, and the tender is a further step towards achieving the offshore expansion target by 2030, the agency said.
The tendering procedure will follow the so-called ‘central model’ which was introduced last year. The model requires not only the funding and the grid connection capacity to be tendered out, but also the right to apply to the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) for planning approval for the development of the areas with an offshore wind farm.
The tenders are based on the formal determination of the suitability of the areas. This is the result of preliminary investigations carried out by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency on behalf of the Federal Network Agency.
The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency examined the marine environment, the subsoil, and the wind and oceanographic conditions for the area, and published the results of the investigations on its website. The costs of the preliminary investigations will be passed on to the successful bidder after the contract has been awarded.
As previously reported, Germany plans to auction off 1,880 MW of offshore wind capacity throughout 2022 and 2023. One of the areas, N-7.2, is located 85 kilometres northwest of the East Frisian Islands. The area covers 58 square kilometres and has a capacity of 980 MW scheduled to go into operation in 2027.
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