Germany Will Auction Four Offshore Wind Concessions

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 on June 15.
The auction will now move to a "dynamic bidding" process with the regulator preparing the second round in the near future, S&P Global Platts.
"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 $165,000 to $33,000, with 90% of any income going toward 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 an investment of about $22 billion, based on recent capital expenditure costs for offshore wind projects in Germany.
Platts-assessed capture prices for German offshore wind averaged $100/MWh in May.