TotalEnergies and utility EnBW have emerged as winners in a $3.2bn German offshore wind site auction, securing rights to develop wind farms with a combined capacity of 2.5GW.

The auction was conducted by the German energy regulator, the Federal Network Agency.

EnBW has been awarded a contract to develop a 1GW offshore wind farm in the North Sea, to be operational by 2031.

Located 120km northwest of Heligoland, the wind farm will supply electricity to 1.35 million households.

EnBW CEO Georg Stamatelopoulos stated: “Winning the auction represents another important milestone in the restructuring of our generation portfolio.

“We want to expand renewable energy capacity to between 10GW and 11.5GW by 2030 and be a climate-neutral company by 2035.

“To this end, we are investing a total of €40bn in the energy transition by 2030, around a third of our total investment alone in the construction of wind farms and solar parks as well as flexibly controllable and hydrogen-ready gas power plants.”

The utility company plans to enter power purchase agreements (PPAs) with industrial customers for the sale of the electricity generated by the new offshore wind farm.

TotalEnergies, through its stake in Offshore Wind One, has secured the maritime concession N-11.2, which encompasses 156km² and has a capacity of 1.5GW.

Offshore Wind One GmbH will make a payment of €196m to the German Federal Government by June 2025.

The payment is earmarked for marine conservation and the promotion of environmentally friendly fishing practices.

An annual fee of €88m will be paid to the electricity transmission system operator responsible for connecting the project, to be paid over 20 years from the commissioning of the site.

The awarded concession will have a duration of 25 years, with the possibility of extension up to 35 years.