The German federal government has decided to postpone the auction of two offshore wind farm areas in the country’s exclusive economic zone in the North Sea, originally scheduled for 2026. The decision, confirmed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, comes amid challenges related to the development of converter platforms, which are critical for efficient energy conversion and low-loss transmission.

The affected areas, N-10.1 and N-10.2, were initially planned to be auctioned by the Federal Network Agency in June 2026. Following the cabinet’s approval of a legislative amendment proposed by the CDU/CSU and SPD coalition, the auctions are now expected to take place in 2027. A previous auction attempt in August 2025 was unsuccessful, as no bids were submitted.

The German Offshore Wind Energy Association (BWO) welcomed the postponement, emphasizing the need for greater planning certainty, an updated auction design, and early transparency regarding delays to critical infrastructure projects such as converter platforms.

“The cabinet’s decision to follow our recommendation for a postponement sends the right signal,” said Hans Sohn, Head of Policy and Communications at BWO. He stressed the importance of a new auction framework based on bilateral contracts for difference with indexation to reduce risks and make investments viable again.

At the same time, BWO highlighted that the next tender should happen as soon as possible to avoid creating uncertainty in the value chain. The association also called for optimization of the N-10 areas to improve expected energy yields, noting that current projections of full-load hours are too low to reflect the technology’s true potential.

The N-10.1 and N-10.2 wind farms, covering a total area of approximately 182 square kilometers and a combined capacity of 2.5 gigawatts, are scheduled to go online in 2030 and 2031, respectively. The postponement of the auctions does not affect the expansion targets set out in the Offshore Wind Energy Act.