Bundesrat endorses offshore wind market overhaul

• 22 June 2026
• Government, Grid, Windfarms
• Baltic Wind

Germany’s Bundesrat has adopted a resolution on offshore wind expansion that incorporates several reform proposals from the German Offshore Wind Energy Association (BWO).

The resolution calls for changes to auction design, cross-border cooperation models and updates to the Offshore Wind Energy Act.

The Bundesrat has urged the federal government to present a draft amendment before the 2026 summer recess. The aim is to ensure a revised auction framework is in place for tenders from 2027, providing developers with sufficient lead time for investment and project planning.

The BWO said recent market developments highlight the need for reform, including the failed offshore auction in 2025, the suspension of the 2026 auctions and ongoing uncertainty around awarded projects. It supports an indexed, two-sided contracts-for-difference-only model to strengthen financing conditions and improve project delivery rates.

The association also backed proposals to address sites awarded between 2023 and 2025. It has called for a regulated mechanism allowing voluntary return and rapid re-tendering of areas where projects are no longer viable, to avoid long-term constraints on seabed use and grid capacity.

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