For the first time in Germany, corporations are paying for the right to open wind farms in the North and Baltic Seas. The Federal Network Agency was offered a total of 12.6 billion euros for four areas. Most of the money is to be used to reduce electricity costs.
The first auction of four areas for offshore wind farms in the North Sea and Baltic Sea by the Federal Network Agency generated proceeds of 12.6 billion euros. This was announced by the supervisory authority in Bonn. 90 percent of the money raised will be used to reduce electricity costs. Five percent each flow into marine nature conservation and the promotion of environmentally friendly fishing.
It is the first time that the Federal Network Agency has used an auction to determine which companies are allowed to set up a wind farm. This became necessary because several zero-cent bids had been received for all four areas. This means that the companies forego the long-established state subsidies from the outset. The commissioning of the wind farms is scheduled for 2030.
A total of four areas were auctioned off
Three areas for wind farms with a capacity of 2000 megawatts each in the North Sea and one area for a wind farm with a capacity of 1000 megawatts in the Baltic Sea were auctioned. Successful bidders were bp OFW Management 1 GmbH, bp OFW Management 3 GmbH, North Sea OFW N12-1 GmbH & Co. KG and Baltic Sea OFW O2-2 GmbH & Co. KG.
The now completed auction is remarkable for the size of the planned wind farms alone. In one fell swoop, seven gigawatts of capacity were put out to tender – enough to almost double the current offshore capacities in Germany. According to the consulting company Deutsche Windguard, 1,539 offshore wind turbines with a total capacity of 8.1 gigawatts were in operation in Germany at the end of 2022.
However, consumers should not expect too much relief from electricity prices as a result of the auction proceeds. It is true that the majority of the money is to be used to finance the necessary grid expansion and thus ultimately reduce consumers’ electricity costs. But in view of the estimated network expansion costs of more than 100 billion euros, the billions in proceeds from the campaign are more like “a drop on the stone”, said an expert to the dpa news agency.