- Lays out plans to prioritise tenders for centrally pre-examined areas
The government of Germany has started movements toward the amendment of the country’s law regarding offshore wind energy. This decision is geared toward having the necessary framework to enable the government to attain the 70GW offshore wind capacity set for itself by 2045.
As expressed in the draft bill, priority will now be given to tenders for centrally pre-examined areas. In contrast, auctions for non-centrally pre-examined regions will be held on two separate dates during the year.
These changes will also affect the design of the auctions. The bidder with the lowest value in a 20-year contract for difference (CfD) will be awarded the project for centrally pre-examined areas while the projects for non-centrally planned areas will be selected on the basis of qualitative criteria.
In addition, the proposed changes make room for the introduction of measures that are expected to simplify and accelerate the approval process. Some of these measures include a reduction in the period for proposal filings for centrally pre-examined areas to four months and the bundling of environmental assessments.
More so, there are plans on the government’s end to give special access to the German labour market to employees from third countries who are active in constructing and maintaining offshore wind parks.
The German Bundestag will discuss the proposed amendments on Thursday.