Germany N-12.1 (2023)

2023Pure pricefeed in premium1 winner2.0 GW8 bid → 1 won

Also known as: N-12.1, Germany N-12.1

Framework Snapshot

Single-site record scoped to N-12.1 within the four-site 2023 German non-centrally-pre-investigated offshore wind round; parallel auctions in the same round were N-11.1, N-12.2, and O-2.2. 'First major round under the amended two-track model' is treated as narrative context rather than a routed regime-event reference.

Competition

Bidders (preQ → bid → won)

8 → 1

Format

Sealed · 65 rounds

Prize / Award

Award

exclusive planning-approval procedure right + statutory market premium entitlement + grid-connection capacity allocation

Capacity

2.0 GW

Target delivery

At least one turbine including internal cabling must be technically ready by the binding grid-completion date, and at least 95% of awarded capacity must be technically operational within 12 months thereafter; public reporting framed N-12.1 as due operational in 2030.

Project stage at bidding

post survey

Commercial terms

Price

EUR 2m/MW

Payment duration

20 years

Indexation

None

Risk allocation

Site investigation

developer

Offshore transmission

state

Negative prices

—

Wake-loss support

—

Curtailment policy

—

Non-delivery penalties

Penalties are payable to the rule-responsible transmission system operator and are calculated by reference to the statutory security amount; mandatory revocation applies for failure to meet the §81(2) no. 1, no. 2, and no. 5 deadlines.

1Prize Composition

Award Components

exclusive planning-approval procedure right— Exists with the award; the separate 25-year operational term comes from WindSeeG §69(7), not from §24(1).

Exclusive right to conduct the plan-approval procedure (Planfeststellungsverfahren / plangenehmigung track) for the designated offshore wind site under WindSeeG §24(1) no. 1.

statutory market premium entitlement(20y)— Support instrument exists as a legal entitlement, but after dynamic bidding the anzulegender Wert is fixed at 0 ct/kWh under WindSeeG §21(7).

Statutory Marktprämie entitlement under EEG §19 for electricity from offshore wind on the awarded site in the amount of the awarded bid quantity, conferred by WindSeeG §24(1) no. 2.

grid-connection capacity allocation— Linked to the awarded bid quantity and the designated offshore connection line for N-12.1.

Claim to connection of the awarded offshore wind turbines to the designated offshore connection line and allocation of the corresponding grid-connection capacity from the binding completion date, per WindSeeG §24(1) no. 3.

Site Investigation: developer

State pre-investigated site: Yes

Transmission Build: state

Delivery Obligations

Submit planning-hearing documents — Within 24 months after award, the awardee must submit to BSH the documents required to conduct the hearing procedure over the plan under WindSeeG §81(2) no. 1.

→ Penalty payable to the rule-responsible transmission system operator, calculated by reference to 100% of the statutory security amount; mandatory revocation of the award if the deadline is missed.

Provide financing proof — No later than two months after the grid-completion date becomes binding, the awardee must prove financing for construction of the offshore wind farm and provide the required binding supply contracts under WindSeeG §81(2) no. 2.

Start construction — No later than six months before the binding grid-completion date, the awardee must prove that construction of the offshore wind turbines has begun under WindSeeG §81(2) no. 3.

→ Penalty payable to the rule-responsible transmission system operator, calculated by reference to 70% of the statutory security amount.

First turbine technical readiness — No later than the binding grid-completion date, the awardee must prove that at least one offshore wind turbine, including associated internal cabling, has achieved technical operational readiness under WindSeeG §81(2) no. 4.

→ Penalty payable to the rule-responsible transmission system operator of one-twelfth of the remaining security-referenced amount for each calendar month of delay.

Full technical readiness of 95% of awarded capacity — Within 12 months after the binding grid-completion date, the awardee must prove that turbines representing at least 95% of the awarded capacity are technically operational under WindSeeG §81(2) no. 5.

→ Penalty based on the share of non-operational capacity; mandatory proportional revocation of the award to the extent of the shortfall if the deadline is missed.

TCW: At least one turbine including internal cabling must be technically ready by the binding grid-completion date, and at least 95% of awarded capacity must be technically operational within 12 months thereafter; public reporting framed N-12.1 as due operational in 2030.

Late delivery: Penalties are payable to the rule-responsible transmission system operator and are calculated by reference to the statutory security amount; mandatory revocation applies for failure to meet the §81(2) no. 1, no. 2, and no. 5 deadlines.

Extension grounds: Bundesnetzagentur must extend the deadlines in WindSeeG §81(2) nos. 3, 4 and 5 once if insolvency proceedings have been opened over the assets of a turbine manufacturer with which binding supply contracts had been concluded; extension may not exceed 18 months.; No penalty is due, and revocation may not occur to the extent the awardee was prevented without its own fault from meeting the relevant deadline and remains willing and economically and technically able to proceed once the hindrance ceases.; On application, Bundesnetzagentur must determine whether the conditions in WindSeeG §83(1) are met and extend the §81(2) deadlines to the extent required.

Prize Consideration (winner → state)

equal annual instalments

2023-specific Stromkostensenkungskomponente: 90% of the total second bid component for N-12.1, paid to the grid-connection TSO in equal annual instalments over 20 years under WindSeeG §23(1a) and §59(2). For N-12.1 this equals €3.375bn of the €3.75bn total.

EUR 3,375,000,000 EUR

Trigger: Starts from proof under WindSeeG §81(2) no. 4 that at least one turbine including internal cabling is technically ready for operation.

Duration: 20 years

Anchor: fixed year count

TenneT (100%) — Reduction of grid-connection charges / Stromkostensenkungskomponente

lump sum within window

2023-specific Transformationskomponente: 5.875% of the total second bid component, payable to the federal budget within 12 months after award under WindSeeG §23(1a) and §58(4). For N-12.1 this equals €220,312,500.

EUR 220,312,500 EUR

Trigger: Within 12 months after award.

Anchor: until event

Bundeshaushalt (100%) — Transformationskomponente

lump sum within window

2023-specific Meeresnaturschutzkomponente: 3.125% of the total second bid component, payable to the federal budget within 12 months after award under WindSeeG §23(1a) and §58(1). For N-12.1 this equals €117,187,500.

EUR 117,187,500 EUR

Trigger: Within 12 months after award.

Anchor: until event

Bundeshaushalt (100%) — Marine nature conservation

lump sum within window

2023-specific Fischereikomponente: 1% of the total second bid component, payable to the federal budget within 12 months after award under WindSeeG §23(1a) and §58(2). For N-12.1 this equals €37,500,000.

EUR 37,500,000 EUR

Trigger: Within 12 months after award.

Anchor: until event

Bundeshaushalt (100%) — Promoting sustainable fishing

2Competition Mechanism

Gebotswert(ct/kWh)↓ Lower wins

Stage trigger: If multiple bidders on N-12.1 submit tied bids at 0.00 ct/kWh, Bundesnetzagentur switches from the sealed bid stage to the dynamic bidding procedure under WindSeeG §21.

Phases: final binding (binding)

Zweite Gebotskomponente(EUR/MW)↑ Higher wins

Phases: final binding (binding)

Bid Format

Two-stage format for the single N-12.1 site: Stage 1 is a single sealed Gebotswert bid in ct/kWh; because all 8 bids tied at 0.00 ct/kWh, N-12.1 moved to Stage 2, a 65-round online dynamic ascending auction on the zweite Gebotskomponente in EUR/MW. The 2023 statutory Höchstwert for Stage 1 was 6.2 ct/kWh and Gebotswert bids could not be negative.

sealedmulti-round65 rounds

Reserve: 6.2 ct/kWh — Statutory Höchstwert for 2023 Gebotswert bids under WindSeeG §19(1) no. 3; Gebotswert bids also could not be negative under §17(3).

Cycle structure: continuous ascending

Stop: The dynamic procedure continues until no more than one bidder accepts the current bid step. If one bidder accepts, that bidder wins at that bid step; if none accept, the highest intermediate-round bid wins; if equal highest intermediate-round bids are submitted, or no bid is submitted in a round, the lot decides.

Selection: Eligible bidders submit concealed acceptance of the current bid step, or an intermediate-round bid below the current step but above earlier steps.

Disclosure: Before each round, Bundesnetzagentur discloses the new bid step and the number of eligible bidders.

Selection Envelopes

N-12.1maximum · capacity2,000 MWown clearing price

3Qualifying Gates

Bidder identity and EEG form databinary predicate

The bid must contain the bidder identity and the information required by EEG §30(1) no. 1 and §30(2a), as referenced by WindSeeG §17(1).

Consent to document usebinary predicate

The bidder must provide the consent required for BSH and Bundesnetzagentur document use under WindSeeG §17(1) in conjunction with §91(1).

Valid Gebotswert bidrange

The Gebotswert must be stated in ct/kWh, may not be negative, must respect the 2023 statutory Höchstwert of 6.2 ct/kWh, and is subject to the statutory formatting requirements including two-decimal precision.

Correct site designationbinary predicate

The bid must specify the designated published area for which it is submitted; this record is scoped to N-12.1.

PPA commitment evidencequantitative minimum≥20 % of published auction volume marketed via power supply contracts for at least 5 years

The bid must include proof that for at least five years at least 20% of the published auction volume for the area will be marketed through electricity supply contracts with one or more companies.

Bid security depositformula based≥25 25% of total security by bid deadline; total security = bid quantity × EUR 100/kW

Total security equals bid quantity multiplied by EUR 100 per kW of installed capacity; 25% must be deposited with Bundesnetzagentur by the bid deadline.

Public order and security screening for certain foreign biddersbinary predicate

Bundesnetzagentur may, with the agreement of the competent federal ministry, exclude a bidder that is a non-EU person or controlled by non-EU persons if the award or operation would probably impair Germany's public order or security.

4Scoring Dimensions

Priceprice100%

Method: quantitative formula

5Tiebreak Chain

lottery — If multiple bidders submit equal highest intermediate-round bids in the dynamic procedure, or if no bidder submits a bid in a round, Bundesnetzagentur decides by lot; in the no-bid case the lot is drawn among the last bids previously submitted by those bidders.

6Revenue Mechanism

Instrumentfeed in premium

Directionstate to developer

Term20 years

Term StartStatutory EEG market-premium claim period from commissioning / support-period start; after dynamic bidding the anzulegender Wert is fixed at 0 ct/kWh under WindSeeG §21(7).

Indexationnone — No indexation identified; the legally relevant value parameter is fixed at 0 ct/kWh.

Reference PriceEEG §19 market-premium regime against the monthly market value (monatlicher Marktwert).

Price ComputationPremium entitlement exists under the EEG market-premium mechanism, but the anzulegender Wert is fixed at 0 ct/kWh after dynamic bidding, so the payment value is zero in practice.

7Authorities & Jurisdiction

Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA)scheme ownerdelivery bodynational

Legal basis: WindSeeG 2022 amendment.

Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)policy ownernational

Legal basis: WindSeeG 2022 amendment.

Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH)site planning authoritynational

Legal basis: WindSeeG 2022 amendment and Flächenentwicklungsplan framework.

TenneTgrid system operatorfiscal recipientnational

Legal basis: Grid operator for N-12.1 and recipient of the 90% Stromkostensenkungskomponente share.

European Commission DG Competitionstate aid regulatorsupranational

Legal basis: December 2022 state-aid approval for the amended WindSeeG regime.

8Process & Timeline

Process Stages

1. WindSeeG 2022 amendment in force — The amended statutory regime established the two-track model, dynamic bidding procedure, and 2023 proceeds split governing N-12.1.2. European Commission state-aid approval — The amended WindSeeG regime received the state-aid clearance needed for the 2023 auction design.3. BSH Flächenentwicklungsplan 2023 publication — BSH published the site-development plan setting the designated area and offshore connection framework for N-12.1.4. Sealed bid submission deadline — Bids for N-12.1 were submitted under the Stage 1 sealed Gebotswert procedure by the statutory deadline.5. Preliminary results and tie detection — Bundesnetzagentur announced that multiple 0.00 ct/kWh bids had been received, so N-12.1 could not clear in Stage 1 and moved to the dynamic bidding procedure.6. Dynamic bidding procedure — Bundesnetzagentur ran the online dynamic ascending auction on the zweite Gebotskomponente for N-12.1; the site cleared after 65 rounds.7. Results publication — Bundesnetzagentur published the N-12.1 winner and clearing value for the awarded 2,000 MW site.

Timeline Events

1 Dec 2022state aid approvalmonth[European Commission DG Competition]— State-aid approval for the amended WindSeeG regime was granted in December 2022.

1 Jan 2023site development plan publishedyear[Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH)]— BSH Flächenentwicklungsplan 2023 publication established the N-12.1 site and offshore connection framework.

1 Jun 2023sealed bid deadline[Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA)]— Bid deadline for the sealed Gebotswert stage for non-centrally pre-investigated sites, including N-12.1.

15 Jun 2023preliminary results announced[Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA)]— Bundesnetzagentur announced preliminary results and confirmed that tied 0.00 ct/kWh bids on all four 2023 sites triggered the dynamic bidding procedure.

—dynamic bidding begins[Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA)]— Online dynamic bidding on the zweite Gebotskomponente began after the 0.00 ct/kWh tie; the procedures were run as far as possible synchronously across the 2023 sites.

12 Jul 2023dynamic bidding ends per site[Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA)]— N-12.1 cleared after 65 rounds in the dynamic bidding procedure.

12 Jul 2023results published[Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA)]— Bundesnetzagentur published the final N-12.1 result: North Sea OFW N12-1 GmbH & Co. KG won 2,000 MW at €1.875m/MW.

—initial payment due— The lump-sum 2023 prize-consideration components were due within 12 months after award under WindSeeG §23(1a) / §58.

9Market Context

Programme

WindSeeG 2022 framework programme

Policy Targets in Force at Open

Germany offshore wind target: 30 GW by 203030 GWby 2030

Regime Events

Mar 2021EU State Aid Decision SA.57858 approvalstate aid approval

Jan 2022WindSeeG 2022 amendment in forcelegislative amendment

Narrative ReferenceSingle-site record scoped to N-12.1 within the four-site 2023 German non-centrally-pre-investigated offshore wind round; parallel auctions in the same round were N-11.1, N-12.2, and O-2.2. 'First major round under the amended two-track model' is treated as narrative context rather than a routed regime-event reference.

Relationships & Sources

Source Documents4 documents

Auction Results (1)

Winner	Site/Lot	Category	Capacity	Price	Total Value	Delivery	Term	Mechanism	Signed	Status
North Sea OFW N12-1 GmbH & Co. KG	N-12.1	North Sea	2,000 MW	EUR 1,875,000/MW	3,750,000,000	2030	—	auction clearing	—	—