Energie: Reiche will in Ausnahmen Rückgabe von Wind-Flächen ermöglichen

Bundeswirtschaftsministerin Katherina Reiche (CDU) plans to allow for the return and reallocation of offshore wind zones that were previously auctioned, according to trade publication information. This move aims to address the challenges in offshore wind development in Germany. The past expansion policy has led to significant missteps, including overly ambitious auctions and rising costs, which now threaten the realization of offshore wind parks.

In 2023 and 2024 alone, 16 gigawatts of offshore projects were awarded, more than one and a half times the current installed capacity on German soil. Wind parks have sometimes been planned too densely, preventing them from accessing each other's wind, particularly in the coastal zone. This has resulted in a slowdown of offshore development as many awarded areas are not being utilized due to their economic unfeasibility.

Reiche intends to streamline the allocation of wind zones and optimize the grid infrastructure. Future auctions will initially be conducted without any state subsidies to improve the distribution of projects across offshore zones. For projects that are not economically viable without subsidies, differential contracts are planned.

In the case of low electricity prices, investors will be assisted, while at high prices, revenues will flow back to the state. However, Reiche plans to intervene only in a very narrow scope. Specifically, she intends to allow for returns and re-auctions of offshore zones that were auctioned in 2023 and 2024 but had no prior preliminary investigation.

This pertains to zones with a total capacity of 9.5 gigawatts. These zones will be put back into the market through special auctions following an evaluation and optimization process. The current landowners will be excluded from this process. The aim is not to make returns and re-auctions the norm, but to avoid additional delays and jeopardize investments, according to ministry sources.

Instead, the ministry is working on adjusting payment modalities to strengthen early-stage liquidity. Companies will need to pay less money all at once in the early project phase, preserving their liquidity to finance the planning and development of their wind parks until revenues start flowing from operations. Reiche's intervention is rare and intended only in exceptional circumstances, as several state leaders previously demanded in a joint letter that a "once-off, strictly conditioned and legally secure return possibility" with a timely re-auction be introduced, without further restrictions.

The letter was signed by eight state leaders from Niedersachsen, Bayern, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Baden-Württemberg, Bremen, the Saarland, and Schleswig-Holstein. Reiche's team emphasizes the importance of aligning expansion ambitions with economic reality, rather than focusing on high auction prices. They advocate for a continuous, efficiently planned expansion with reliable investment conditions.