TotalEnergies has secured the rights to develop a 1GW offshore wind area in Germany’s North Sea following a competitive auction run by the Bundesnetzagentur.
The French energy major submitted the winning bid for the N-9.4 plot through its subsidiary North Sea OFW One GmbH in a process that attracted multiple zero-subsidy offers, triggering a dynamic bidding round.
The final price of €180,000 per megawatt means TotalEnergies will pay a total of €180 million for the 1000MW site.
The auction was held under section 20 of the WindSeeG law, covering areas that have not undergone central pre-examination.
Only one bid was awarded a contract, according to the decision published on 16 June 2025.
The award will be considered officially published on 23 June 2025, in accordance with the Renewable Energy Act.
“I congratulate our member company TotalEnergies on its auction success! Total Energies has secured a development portfolio of 7,5 gigawatts, making it the largest developer of offshore wind farms in Germany,” said BWO Managing Director Stefan Thimm.
“The results of the auction for site N-9.4 clearly demonstrate how significantly the risks for offshore wind developers have increased in recent years due to geopolitical tensions and supply bottlenecks.
“The current auction process no longer reflects economic realities. In addition to mandatory overplanting, these include rigid implementation deadlines and the associated penalties,” said the Managing Director of the German Offshore Wind Energy Association.”
He added: “These risks are reflected in the significantly lower auction proceeds compared to previous years and only two zero-cent bids.
“A bilateral Contract for Difference, or CfD for short, is necessary in parallel with the long-term power purchase agreements in order to secure the long-term attractiveness of the German market for investors.”
