German minister flags risks to tenders as offshore auctions draw no bids
Two August tenders for offshore wind energy plants, with volumes of 2,000 MW and 500 MW, and planned commissioning dates in 2031 and 2030, drew no bids for the first time ever on Wednesday, utility association BDEW said, citing the Federal Network Agency.
Reiche said the tendered area was riskier due to its geographical and geological conditions, located in deep waters where there could be erosion of foundations and highly challenging structural conditions.
"The first question is: Were the designated areas appropriate, or were potential risks for developers ... underestimated? We need to look at this critically," Reiche told a news conference in Berlin.
She said changing market conditions with customers no longer willing to uphold Power Purchase Agreements during periods of negative electricity prices and wanting to secure their electricity needs directly from the market instead, was another factor behind developers' reluctance.
The Federal Network Agency should review its tender design and consider UK-style reforms to safeguard Germany's offshore wind potential, she added.
Germany's network regulator was not immediately available to comment on the results.
BDEW cited rising project and capital costs due to geopolitical tensions and supply chain bottlenecks, as well as increasingly difficult-to-predict price and volume risks in the electricity market as additional reasons for the results.
They followed a sluggish start to 2025 for the sector, during which Germany failed to connect a single new turbine to the grid, and industry groups pushed for the government to introduce improved auction measures to ensure more turbine additions.
As of June 30, 2025 the country had 9.2 gigawatts (GW) of installed offshore capacity, unchanged from December 31, 2024, but 1.9 GW of new turbines are under construction, according to consultancy Deutsche WindGuard, commissioned by the lobbies to gather data.
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