en.Wedoany.com Reported - TotalEnergies is seeking to return some of the projects it won in German offshore wind auctions between 2023 and 2025, citing delays in grid expansion and changes in economic conditions. The company stated that it has paid 10% of the total bid amount, approximately €800 million, and posted a €750 million guarantee, and is now hoping to recover these funds.
As early as June 2025, TotalEnergies announced in a press release regarding the award of the N-9.4 project that it had initiated a strategic review of its German offshore wind projects acquired since 2023, stating at the time that the aim was to engage in dialogue with German authorities on possible development conditions. A year later, the situation has significantly deteriorated. According to an internal discussion document seen by NDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung, individual projects from the 2023 to 2025 auction rounds may not be feasible. TotalEnergies declined to comment on specific issues, with a spokesperson stating in a written statement to NDR only that developing these projects remains a priority and that the matter involves a proposal regarding handling delays that have already occurred. According to NDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung, signs of JERA Nex bp's withdrawal are also intensifying; industry insiders report that offices in Berlin and Hamburg are gradually being closed, and the lease for the Hamburg office has been terminated. Requests for comment from JERA Nex bp went unanswered.
The financial scale underscores the severity of the situation. In 2023, TotalEnergies secured wind farm sites in the German North Sea and Baltic Sea for nearly €6 billion, adding nearly €2 billion in 2024, with a total investment portfolio of approximately 7.5 gigawatts. The company has paid 10% of the total bid amount (about €800 million) and posted a €750 million guarantee. Two additional sites exceeding 4 gigawatts are held by the JERA Nex bp joint venture. According to BWO, projects with a total installed capacity of about 16 gigawatts from the 2023 to 2025 auction years are affected overall. Based on an investment scale of approximately €3 billion per gigawatt, the project value on the wind farm side alone is around €50 billion.
Withdrawals would impact public budgets. Ninety percent of offshore auction revenues have been earmarked to limit grid fees and stabilize electricity prices. If the more than €7 billion from TotalEnergies' bids falls through, these funds will be missing elsewhere, having a tangible impact on further grid expansion.
BWO has proposed establishing a legal regulatory mechanism allowing project developers to voluntarily return awarded sites within a specified period. BWO Managing Director Stefan Thimm stated that the federal government failed to include a return option for awarded projects in the offshore wind auction rules. The current auction design transfers considerable risk to companies, especially given severe delays in grid connections, creating a real risk of blockage for sites with up to 16 gigawatts of capacity.
BWO's proposal envisions a return window opening within four weeks after the legal basis takes effect. Returned sites should be re-tendered as soon as possible under a new auction design starting in 2027, if necessary through special tenders. Companies returning sites may not bid again for the same site and must transfer preliminary investigation results to the Federal Network Agency. The guarantee will be fully refunded, but paid nature conservation portions will not be reimbursed. Thimm stated that projects worth billions of euros with no realistic prospects of realization pose a real threat to the supply chain and expects the federal government to immediately implement this proposal from the offshore wind industry.
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