The German Federal Network Agency BNetzA has put up tender to develop a 1GW offshore wind farm in an area in the North Sea.

The regulatory body said that the bidder who registers the lowest subsidy requirement for a wind farm in the area will be awarded the contract, with the maximum value for bids being 6.4 ct/kWh.

It added that bids must be submitted to BNetzA in Bonn by 1 September, while it is expected that the wind farm would be completed by 2027.

After the bids have been checked and the award procedure has been carried out, the bidders will be informed of the decision and the results of the tender will be published on the Agency's website.

A company that originally planned an offshore wind farm on the advertised site has a statutory right of entry, the agency said.

This is the second call for tenders in the so-called "central model", for which the first call for tenders was issued last year.

This model means that not only the funding and the grid connection capacity are tendered, but also the right to apply to the responsible Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) for planning approval for the development of the areas with an offshore wind farm.

The tenders are based on the formal determination of the suitability of the areas which calculated from the results of comprehensive preliminary investigations carried out by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency on behalf of the Federal Network Agency.

The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency examined the marine environment, the subsoil and the wind and oceanographic conditions for the area and published the results of the investigations on its website.

The costs of the preliminary investigations will be passed on to the successful bidder after the contract has been awarded.