A German court has rejected Trianel’s €144m damages claim against transmission operator TenneT over delayed connections at the 200MW Borkum West 2.1 offshore wind farm in the North Sea.
The Regional Court of Bayreuth dismissed the lawsuit, which has lasted three-and-a-half years, on the grounds that the delays started ahead of federal compensation regulations coming into effect.
Commissioning of the wind farm was originally planned for February 2013. TenneT linked the wind farm via the 800MW DolWin1 hub at the end of December 2014.
Borkum West has been operating at full capacity since July 2015.
The court said offshore wind farms operators could claim compensation of 90% of the feed-in tariffs on delayed grid connections made after the new rules were implemented in December 2012.
The court also affirmed that associated financial losses at Borkum West 2, beyond the 90% rule, will not be compensated.
The detailed grounds for the judgment will be sent to Trianel and TenneT this week. The developer will have four weeks to respond.
Law firm Hengeler Mueller represented the defendant TenneT in the case.
Image: Borkum West 2.1 (Trianel)
Court rejects Trianel grid claim
Legal dispute involved TenneT and delayed links at 200MW Borkum West
By EBS