Germany proposes amendments to Offshore Wind Act to accelerate development

Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has introduced a draft amendment to the Wind Energy at Sea Act (WindSeeG) to accelerate offshore wind development. The proposal aims to streamline administrative procedures, reduce bureaucratic hurdles, and enhance inter-agency coordination to meet the national target of at least 70 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2045.

Key provisions in the draft include annual tenders ranging from 2 GW to 4.8 GW, the introduction of bilateral Contracts for Difference (CfDs), and an extension of the standard operating period for new wind farms to 35 years. The amendment also seeks to establish opportunities for cross-border offshore wind projects and implement predefined project zones to simplify site selection.

The German Offshore Wind Energy Association (BWO) has expressed support for the inclusion of bilateral CfDs but argues the mechanism should be integrated into the tender design rather than serving as a fallback option. Additionally, the BWO has called for a mechanism to allow economically unviable projects from the 2023–2025 tender rounds to be returned to the government for re-tendering to prevent the waste of grid connection capacity and offshore areas.