Germany on Wednesday auctioned off rights to build offshore wind power plants for the first time, raising billions of euros earmarked to help slash consumer electricity bills.
Three sites on the North Sea and one on the Baltic brought in proceeds of 12.6 billion euros ($14.0 billion), the Federal Network Agency, a government regulatory body, said.
The winning offers came from energy giants BP and TotalEnergies among eight bidders for each of the sites.
“The outcome confirms the attractiveness of investments in offshore wind energy in Germany,” said Federal Network Agency president Klaus Mueller in a statement.
“Competition for offshore wind energy has never been higher.”
Ninety percent of the windfall is to be used to offset a spike in household electricity costs largely with grid expansion, the agency said, with the remaining funds going toward marine conservation and sustainable fishing measures.
It was the first time the agency used an auction to determine which companies could build wind farms, which are set to open by 2030.
The North Sea sites are due to have a capacity of 2,000 megawatts each while the Baltic facility will produce up to 1,000 megawatts.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-left-led coalition government has pledged to produce 80 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, with an ambitious timetable for boosting offshore wind capacity.
dlc/bp
© Agence France-Presse
