Wpd goes to court over German Wind at Sea Act
ReCharge News|Bernd Radowitz |October 2, 2017
German wind developer Wpd has filed a complaint to Germany’s constitutional court against the Wind Energy at Sea Act (WindSeeG) after its far-offshore project Kaikas in the North Sea was excluded from future offshore wind tenders without compensation to the developer.
German wind developer Wpd has filed a complaint to Germany’s constitutional court against the Wind Energy at Sea Act (WindSeeG) after its far-offshore project Kaikas in the North Sea was excluded from future offshore wind tenders without compensation to the developer.
German wind developer Wpd has filed a complaint to Germany’s constitutional court against the Wind Energy at Sea Act (WindSeeG) after its far-offshore project Kaikas in the North Sea was excluded from future offshore wind tenders without compensation to the developer.
Wpd in 2013 had won a license to build 80 turbines at Kaikas.
But the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency BSH in 2015 halted licensing procedures in the cluster more than 100km from the shore containing the project, which made it unlikely it would secure a grid access guarantee.
Wpd says Kaikas is the only licensed project that had been excluded from participating in offshore wind tenders according to the Wind Energy at Sea Act that became law in January 2017.
“For …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]German wind developer Wpd has filed a complaint to Germany’s constitutional court against the Wind Energy at Sea Act (WindSeeG) after its far-offshore project Kaikas in the North Sea was excluded from future offshore wind tenders without compensation to the developer.
Wpd in 2013 had won a license to build 80 turbines at Kaikas.
But the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency BSH in 2015 halted licensing procedures in the cluster more than 100km from the shore containing the project, which made it unlikely it would secure a grid access guarantee.
Wpd says Kaikas is the only licensed project that had been excluded from participating in offshore wind tenders according to the Wind Energy at Sea Act that became law in January 2017.
“For years we have trusted a legal situation that has given a series of incentives to developers to develop their projects,” Wpd offshore managing director Achim Berge said.
“We have invested a double-digit [euro] million amount to fulfil official requirements, just to lose all possibilities for construction little time before the implementation through a system change. You cannot treat investors worse and cannot undermine investment security more clearly.”
The 150-page constitutional claim worked out by Marcus Dannecker of the Gleiss Lutz law firm argues barring Kaikas from participating in the tenders goes against the principle of equality in Germany’s Basic Law, and against freedoms of occupancy and property.
Germany in a first tender for already-licensed offshore projects in April allocated 1.38GW in offshore acreage to projects not asking for any subsidy at all, sending shock waves through the offshore wind sector.