Germany's Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) has awarded a total of 4GW of capacity in its most recent onshore wind tender, following an oversubscription. The February 1 tender saw 506 bids submitted, totaling 4.9GW, while 422 bids were ultimately successful, achieving the allocated 4GW capacity. Six bids were excluded from the award process.
Klaus Müller, president of the Federal Network Agency, commented on the results, stating: “Fortunately, the trend towards oversubscribed bidding dates is also continuing in the wind energy sector. Competition enables low award values. This is good news all round for the expansion of renewables.”
The agency did not reduce the tender volume in advance, as had been done in previous rounds, due to the high number of new permits reported. The previous tender round in November 2024 also saw bids exceeding the 4GW allocated, with 6GW of total bids submitted.
Bärbel Heidebroek, president of the German Wind Energy Association (BWE), welcomed the results, noting that the awards would support both the country's energy policy and the broader industrial supply chain. She said, “The awards ensure that the energy policy expansion path is implemented and at the same time provide a strong industrial policy impetus for the entire value chain.”
Heidebroek, however, criticized the long delay between the tender cut-off and the announcement of the results, calling the waiting period “unacceptable” and adding, “Such long waiting times unnecessarily slow down project implementation.”
The largest share of the awarded capacity went to North Rhine-Westphalia, which secured 1.3GW. Other significant awards were made to Lower Saxony (475MW), Brandenburg (433MW), and Saxony-Anhalt (334MW).
