Denmark has decided to include grid connection costs in the scope of its upcoming 800MW-plus offshore wind tender.
Copenhagen has also offered developers the flexibility to bid with projects of up to 1GW in size.
The inclusion of connection costs was widely expected by the industry and all but rules out zero-subsidy bids.
Previously, national transmission system operator Energinet had been responsible for the establishment and operation of transformer platforms and submarine cables for offshore wind farms.
“This task is now transferred to the winner as part of the overall project,” the Danish Energy Agency said.
The government was already assuming that the winning project would be built on a subsidy-free basis, apart from the grid connections costs. So the connection costs will be included “indirectly” in the calculation of the subsidy, sources said.
The tender for the rights to develop an offshore wind farm at the project site, dubbed Thor, will be held this year, with power due online between 2024 and 2027.
Denmark’s new energy policy, revealed last June, will also involve two subsequent rounds of at least 800MW, to offer a combined minimum Danish capacity boost of 2.4GW by 2030.
Energinet will continue to have responsibility for the onshore wires and substation, the DEA said.