Dong Awarded 3 Offshore Wind Projects in German north sea

In an auction Bundesnetzagentur has awarded DONG Energy the right to build three offshore wind projects in the German North Sea. DONG Energy submitted six projects in the bid and won the following three projects which have a total capacity of 590MW:

• OWP West (240MW)
• Borkum Riffgrund West 2 (240MW)
• Gode Wind 3 (110MW)

The projects are planned to be commissioned in 2024 and Dong will make Final Investment Decision by 2021.

For OWP West and Borkum Riffgrund West 2 – DONG Energy made bids at zero EUR per MWh, i.e. these projects will not receive a subsidy on top of the wholesale electricity price. The Gode Wind 3 project was awarded based on a bid price of EUR 60 per MWh.

DONG Energy Executive VP and CEO, Samuel Leupold said that the zero subsidy bid is a breakthrough for the cost competitiveness of offshore wind, and it demonstrates the technology’s massive global growth potential as a cornerstone in the economically viable shift to green energy systems. Cheaper clean energy will benefit governments and consumers  and not least help meet the Paris COP21 targets to fight climate change. Still it’s important to note that the zero bid is enabled by a number of circumstances in this auction. Most notably, the realization window is extended to 2024. This allows developers to apply the next generation turbine technology, which will support a major step down in costs. Also, the bid reflects the fact that grid connection is not included.

Dong is basing the bids on turbines of 13MW to 15MW. It said the sites feature scale, high quality wind speeds and extended lifetimes of up to 30 years.

Image Source: DONG Energy