Germany's next offshore wind auctions 'may fail as well', WindEurope warns
Industry lobby group warns that action is needed to speed up German transition from negative bidding to contracts for difference system
Germany’s next offshore wind auctions may fail as well unless legislation is changed fast enough to replace current rules that allow for uncapped negative bidding, WindEurope has warned.
The industry lobby group has analysed recent moves away from negative bidding – mechanisms in tenders to make developers pay for the right to build wind farms – in Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany, asking: “Is negative bidding dead?”.
“The three governments that have been running negative bidding auctions for offshore are now moving to CfDs,” WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson said.
“They are right to do so: negative bidding makes offshore wind more expensive. It means higher upfront costs and higher financing costs.
“And these additional costs are passed on to consumers and/or the wind energy supply chain.”
The country’s current auction design is not future-proof, as it places excessive and uncontrollable risks on offshore wind developers and doesn’t account for the current market environment and investment conditions, WindEurope said.
“Without a course correction, the upcoming 2026 auctions may fail as well.”
But it is unclear how quickly the administration of Chancellor Friedrich Merz will act.
For 2026, Germany's currently still valid auction schedule foresees a total volume of 6GW for offshore wind tenders.
Of that, 1.5GW are for centrally pre-examined sites. Another 4.5GW are for not centrally pre-examined sites, including the two sites with a volume of 2.5GW that flopped this year.
The government needs to complete the necessary amendments to Germany’s Offshore Wind Energy Act and other regulations quickly for the CfDs to be applied in the 2026 auctions already, WindEurope urged.
The group added that a recent German study found that CfDs could reduce generation costs by up to 30%.
WindEurope also pointed out that Denmark failed to attract bids in its 3GW offshore wind auction last year that included negative bidding, and has since announced that its upcoming tender for three sites with a total capacity of 3GW will offer CfDs.
“Negative bidding may seem a short-term gain to finance ministries. But it’s a long-term cost for society,” Dickson said.