Germany’s offshore wind sector has welcomed a government decision to delay the 2026 auctions to 2027, due to bottlenecks in converter platform completion and last year’s auction disaster.

The cabinet approved the postponement on Wednesday, responding to industry pleas after August 2025’s no-bid auction for two North Sea sites.

The communications head of the BWO, Germany’s representative body for the offshore wind industry, Hans Sohn, deemed another round under current rules “very risky,” though he called for quicker reforms than a full-year wait.

Only 500MW and 41 turbines were connected during 2025, raising total capacity to 9.7GW and jeopardising the country’s 30GW 2030 target. The BWO now targets 20GW by decade-end, urging two-way contracts for difference to replace negative bids, enhance investor certainty, and prioritise rapid buildout.

​The delay follows the coastal states’ support and BWO’s urgent calls following the Hamburg North Sea Summit. The German offshore wind sector is seeking to overhaul auctions to align them with other, more successful European models.

Denmark and the Netherlands were also hit by similar challenges but are now eyeing a return to CfDs.