Oil and gas giants BP and TotalEnergies have won a total of 7GW in offshore wind auctions worth €12.6 billion announced by the German federal network agency, Bundesnetzagentur. The two companies have secured two marine concessions each, with UK-based BP winning 4 GW and France’s TotalEnergies winning 3 GW. Three wind farms with 6 GW of capacity will be located in the North Sea and one 1 GW project will be located in the Baltic Sea.
TotalEnergies and BP now have the correct planning approval procedure in place to build and operate the wind farms and grid connections. BP has won the N-11.1 and N-12.2 marine concessions. Both are located in the North Sea, between 130km and 150km from the coast, with a total capacity of 4GW. The company will develop, build and operate the two projects, aiming to reach grid connection by the end of 2030. It will pay €678 million ($755.1m), equivalent to 10% of the total bid amount, by July 2024. The remaining 90% will be paid over a 20-year period, when the wind farms begin operations.
TotalEnergies has secured the N-12.1 and O-2.2 marine concessions. The N-12.1 concession with 2GW capacity is located 170km off the coast in the North Sea and the 1GW O-2.2 concession is located 40km off the coast in the Baltic Sea. In June 2023, TotalEnergies and VNG signed an agreement to initiate the future supply of green hydrogen to the Leuna refinery operated by TotalEnergies. Under the agreement, green hydrogen would be produced from renewable electricity with a 30 MW electrolyzer in Bad Lauchstädt, built and operated by VNG with its partner Uniper.