Germany’s latest offshore wind auction has closed without any bids for the 2,500MW of capacity on offer, triggering renewed calls from industry groups for an overhaul of the country’s tendering system.
The auction, covering North Sea zones N-10.1 and N-10.2, failed to attract interest by the 1 August 2025 deadline. The outcome was described by the German Offshore Wind Energy Association (BWO) as a foreseeable result of policy shortcomings that have made the market less appealing to investors.
“The industry has warned for years that too many risks are being placed on developers,” said Stefan Thimm, managing director of BWO. “The current rules force developers to shoulder risks beyond their control without any safeguards.”
Thimm added that the result sends a clear signal: “The German offshore wind market is currently not attractive to investors.” He warned that unless reforms are made, further auctions could also fail, undermining Germany’s energy transition and risking the loss of billions in potential investment.
The BWO is advocating for the introduction of a dual-track tender model, including Contracts for Difference (CfDs), which it argues could reduce generation costs by up to 30%. “Without this reform, future auctions are also at risk of failure — and with them, the energy transition,” Thimm said.
The two sites in the auction span approximately 182 square kilometres and were scheduled to begin operations in 2030 and 2031. Under current regulation, the Federal Network Agency is required to relaunch the tender, although industry groups argue that only comprehensive policy changes can create a viable investment environment.
The Offshore Wind Energy Foundation echoed these concerns, describing the lack of bids as “a clear alarm signal” for national energy policy. “The loud silence of the market is a clear sign against the current tender design. This means that ‘business as usual’ is off the table,” said managing director Karina Wurtz.
She pointed to the rising financing costs in offshore wind development, and said introducing CfDs could help stabilise revenues and improve bankability. “A reform package including bilateral contracts for difference can drastically reduce the financing costs of offshore expansion,” Wurtz said.
The Foundation also called for auction design changes, such as limiting volumes per bidder to encourage market diversity and tightening prequalification criteria to support sustainable development.
The failed auction follows a previous round in June, where only two bids were submitted for zone N-9.4, resulting in a final price 80% lower than in 2023—a further indication, according to stakeholders, of structural weaknesses in Germany’s offshore wind framework.
Industry leaders warn that without prompt reform, Germany risks falling behind its offshore wind targets and losing investor confidence in a critical sector of its energy transition.
