Germany’s Bundestag has approved the new version of the country’s offshore wind bill, the Wind Energy at Sea Act.
The legal framework to support further expansion of offshore wind has been adopted by the Federal Government.
The act has “yet to seize” the opportunity to ensure expansion targets can be achieved, said offshore wind trade body BWO.
Investors, who are expected to provide the approximately €150bn euros for the expansion of Germany’s offshore wind capacity, as well as the supply chain “see a considerable need for action”, stated the BWO.
BWO managing director Stefan Thimm said: “The coalition has opted for a similar procedure as for the auction of mobile phone licenses.
“Offshore wind farm operators should pay to be allowed to build a wind farm. This has not worked well with the mobile networks. In the end, the consumer always foots the bill: prices rise and quality decreases.”
BWO board member Sven Utermöhlen added: “In the coming years, many hundreds of millions of euros will have to be invested along the entire value chain in production capacities, in the training of skilled workers and in infrastructure.
“This money is now becoming scarcer. But the industry will now look ahead and see how we can best deal with the new framework conditions.”
Dennis Rendschmidt, managing director of VDMA Power Systems said the Wind Energy at Sea Act’s (WindSeeG) changes to the tender design, including the qualitative tender criteria and the second bidding component, do not meet industry’s demands.
“Here, close examination and possibly further adjustments will be necessary in order not to jeopardise the implementation of the expansion goals,” he said.
VDMA Power Systems stated that any inflation compensation for both offshore as well as onshore should be designed in cooperation with the industry.