Results of dynamic bidding procedures in offshore wind power auctions
Year of issue 2024
Date of issue 2024.06.21
The Bundesnetzagentur has today announced the results of the offshore wind power auctions for non-centrally pre-investigated sites, which closed for bids on 1 June 2024. A dynamic bidding procedure was conducted for each of the two sites up for auction. The proceeds from the auctions came to €3.0225bn.
"The results confirm the attractiveness of investing in offshore wind energy in Germany,"
said Klaus Müller, President of the Bundesnetzagentur. "They are another key step towards achieving the offshore expansion target."
Auction results
Two sites with a combined volume of 2,500 MW were up for auction. The two offshore sites, which have a capacity of 1,500 MW and 1,000 MW respectively, are located about 120 km north-west of Helgoland in the North Sea. The wind farms are due to be operational in 2031.
The successful bidders were Offshore Wind One GmbH with a bid of €1.305mn/MW for site N 11.2 and EnBW Offshore Projektgesellschaft 1 GmbH with a bid of €1.065mn/MW for N 12.3. The total prices to be paid by these bidders are €1.9575bn for N-11.2 and €1.065bn for N-12.3. The average award price per gigawatt was €1.8bn in 2023.
The successful bidders now have a right to a planning approval procedure for constructing and operating offshore wind installations on their site and to grid connection and the necessary capacity.
Dynamic bidding procedure conducted online again
The dynamic bidding procedure was necessary because nine bids with a value of zero cents per kilowatt hour had been submitted for site N-11.2 and seven bids for site N-12.3. The purpose of a dynamic bidding procedure is to differentiate between bidders in a competitive environment when several zero-cent bids have been made. The successful bidders were the ones willing to pay the highest amount for each site.
As in the previous year, the successful bidders were determined online in successive bidding rounds with increasing bid levels and with several bidding rounds each day. There were a total of 46 rounds for site N-11.2 and 55 rounds for site N-12.3.
Lower electricity costs and sustainable marine conservation
Most of the proceeds from the offshore wind power auctions go towards bringing down electricity costs and a smaller share towards marine nature conservation and promoting sustainable fishing. The contributions for sustainable marine conservation from each of the successful bids must be paid to the federal budget within one year. The contributions for lowering electricity costs must be paid in equal annual instalments to the transmission system operators required to connect the offshore wind farms over a period of 20 years, beginning when a wind farm becomes operational from 2031 onwards. www.bundesnetzagentur.de/windaufseeausschreibungen24-1 (in German).