Bundestag tinkers with wind energy legislation, but fails to address key issue

After failed auctions and pressure from industry associations, the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, has amended the WindSeeG, the country’s offshore wind energy act, but hasn’t made the major changes needed.

The newly amended WindSeeG includes longer implementation periods and a clear emphasis on a 35-year term for the N-10.1 and N-10.2 areas in the North Sea that were first auctioned earlier this year, that failed to attract any bids.

Up to 2.5 GW of capacity in the areas will once again be auctioned in 2026, but the authorities will continue to use the same auction design that failed to attract bids for the areas this year.

Responding to changes, Bundesverband Windenergie Offshore (BWO) managing director Stefan Thimm said postponing the auctions for the N-10.1 and N-10.2 areas would have been much preferable step, allowing time for the old auction scheme to be replaced with one that makes the chances of success much greater. Mr Thimm said fact that the auctions had not been postponed, allowing auctions using Contracts for Difference (CfDs) to be introduced, was “a missed opportunity.”

Mr Thimm said the Bundestag’s decision "creates uncertainty," especially for the wind energy supply chain. “The long-sought structural reform of the auction design process will now not take place until 2027,” he said. 

“Tendering another 2.5 GW according to the old rules increases the risks. Without two-sided CfDs, there is a risk of further failed auctions and a standstill in the supply chain.”

The BWO believes the extension of the implementation deadlines for projects from six to 12 months is positive, and responds to concerns expressed by industry, “but it does not replace the need for fundamental reform,” and said it will continue to work to ensure that CfDs are introduced as quickly as possible.