Danish blow to offshore wind as auction fails

The first 3GW of Denmark’s 6GW offshore wind tendering procedure expired yesterday Thursday 6 December, and after the process failed completely, the agency said it had been asked to identify why by Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard.

Three offshore wind farms were initially put out to tender in the North Sea, named as A1, A2 and A3.

Had any bidders been successful, the terms would have allowed them to install more than minimum capacity with no upper limit – potentially allowing for more than 10GW, a massive increase on today’s operating total of 2.7GW for Denmark.

The 6GW of offshore wind is offered without subsidies, which might hold a clue as to the zero interest. 

“Bidders participate by tendering a fixed concession payment to the state over 30 years for the right to use the marine area,” say the terms, possibly holding another clue.

Offshore wind is an extremely mixed picture at the moment, with some countries, like Sri Lanka, stepping into it for the first time, and others, like the US, pulling the plug on three potential projects – and this happened before the re-election of Donald Trump as US president, which has also raised concerns in the sector.

Developers have until 1 April 2025 to bid for the second batch of three offshore wind farms in Danish coastal waters. These are named Hesselø, Kattegat and Kriegers Flak II.