The German Offshore Wind Industry Organization is urging the reinstatement of sites from 2023-2025 for projects that have not yet achieved financial close.

The German Offshore Wind Energy Association (BWO) has suggested that the government establish a legal framework allowing developers to voluntarily relinquish offshore wind sites that are unlikely to progress, facilitating a quicker reallocation of those sites.

The association believes this would avoid prolonged blockages of offshore wind zones and grid connection capacity, potentially impacting projects worth up to EUR 50 billion.

This proposal pertains to offshore wind sites granted between 2023 and 2025 that have yet to finalize an investment decision (FID). BWO notes that 14 sites with a total capacity of 17.8 GW were awarded in Germany during this period, and the new mechanism could apply to projects totaling up to 16 GW of capacity.

Under the proposed mechanism, developers could voluntarily return sites within four weeks of the regulation's enactment. The returned sites would be reallocated under Germany’s updated offshore wind auction system starting in 2027, possibly through special tenders.

Stefan Thimm, Managing Director of BWO, remarked, “The German government has not included a buyback option for awarded projects in the offshore wind auction regulations.”

He added, “Moreover, the current auction structure has imposed substantial risks on companies, which they can hardly influence—especially in cases of significant grid connection delays. There is a danger that areas totaling up to 16 gigawatts of capacity will be hindered. A halt in project development endangers the supply chain.”

BWO's proposal also indicates that developers who give back sites would not be permitted to bid again for those areas and would need to provide existing project data and preliminary research to authorities.

The organization states that developers would not receive refunds for fees already paid related to environmental and fisheries auction components, but security deposits would be fully returned to encourage the prompt reporting of unfeasible projects.