TotalEnergies has been awarded the rights to develop a 1-gigawatt offshore wind site in Germany’s North Sea following a competitive auction overseen by the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur), the regulator confirmed.
The French energy company, through its subsidiary North Sea OFW One GmbH, submitted the winning bid for the N-9.4 area. The site, located in waters that have not undergone central pre-examination, was auctioned under section 20 of Germany’s Offshore Wind Energy Act (WindSeeG).
The process, which drew multiple zero-subsidy bids, moved to a dynamic bidding round, with TotalEnergies ultimately agreeing to pay €180,000 per megawatt—amounting to €180 million for the 1000MW area.
The auction results were made public on 16 June 2025, and the formal award is scheduled to be officially published on 23 June 2025 under the provisions of the Renewable Energy Act.
Stefan Thimm, Managing Director of the German Offshore Wind Energy Association (BWO), welcomed the outcome but highlighted the growing challenges facing offshore wind developers in the current environment.
“I congratulate our member company TotalEnergies on its auction success. TotalEnergies has secured a development portfolio of 7.5 gigawatts, making it the largest developer of offshore wind farms in Germany,” Thimm said.
He also noted that the conditions for developers have become more difficult in recent years. “The results of the auction for site N-9.4 clearly demonstrate how significantly the risks for offshore wind developers have increased in recent years due to geopolitical tensions and supply bottlenecks,” he added.
According to Thimm, rigid implementation deadlines, mandatory overplanting, and associated penalties are placing further strain on developers, and the relatively modest auction proceeds reflect these risks.
“These risks are reflected in the significantly lower auction proceeds compared to previous years and only two zero-cent bids,” he said, calling for additional support mechanisms. “A bilateral Contract for Difference, or CfD for short, is necessary in parallel with the long-term power purchase agreements in order to secure the long-term attractiveness of the German market for investors.
