Germany has launched a new tender for four North Sea sites that it believes could support 1.8GW of offshore wind capacity.
Developers will be based on several criteria, including their “willingness to pay” – so-called ‘negative bidding’ – the proportion of renewable energy used in turbine manufacturing, the proportion of trainees used, and how environmentally friendly foundation installation methods are.
Two of the sites are located in the N-3 area 35km north of Norderney, while the other two are located in the N-6 area 90km north-west of Borkum.
Bids must be submitted by 1 August.
The projects should be connected to the grid in the third quarter of 2028.
‘Negative bidding’ has been consistently criticised by the wind sector, including by industry organisations and project developers – though it has not necessarily deterred the latter from competing.
Germany is also due to auction a further 7GW of offshore wind capacity in a separate process this year.
The country aims to have 30GW of operational offshore wind capacity by 2030.
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