Germany marks three areas as suitable for offshore wind

German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie; BSH) has marked three new areas as suitable for the construction and operation of offshore wind farms.

Two areas are in the German sector of the North Sea (N-3.7 and N-3.8) and one is in the Baltic Sea (O-1.3).

The BSH carried out a preliminary examination of the suitability of the three areas in accordance with the German Offshore Wind Act, and proposes the implementation of certain measures, such as protecting the marine environment and shipping.

As part of the suitability test, a strategic environmental check has been done and an environmental report has been drawn up for each area.

Since the authorities and the public must be involved in the strategic environmental assessment, BSH is inviting public comments on its draft suitability and environmental assessment reports. The public has until 28 May 2020 to comment on the published documents. The comments are scheduled to be discussed on 17 June 2020.

The areas N-3.7 and N-3.8 are located in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the North Sea, some 30 to 40 kilometres north of the island of Borkum. The N-3 zone is in close proximity to the Gode Wind wind farm cluster.

The area O-1.3 in the German EEZ of the Baltic Sea is located about 40 kilometres northeast of the island of Rügen. The area is in the vicinity of the 350MW Wikinger offshore wind farm. 

In mid-March, the BSH issued a tender for geological modeling and reporting on wind areas in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, as part of preliminary geological investigations on the N-3 and the O-1 zones.

According to the BSH area development plan from 2019, the three areas will be auctioned for offshore wind development in 2021, with commissioning scheduled for 2026.