The German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) has opened the procedure to amend and update the existing 2025 Site Development Plan for offshore wind, publishing a preliminary draft that charts a path from roughly 11 gigawatts installed today to 70 gigawatts by 2045.

Details

According to the agency, the approach relies on fewer grid connections and more space for individual wind farms. Authorities and the public can submit comments until December 3, 2026.

Alongside the preliminary draft, the BSH published the draft scoping framework for the Strategic Environmental Assessment. The preliminary draft already builds on the current draft of the amendment to the Offshore Wind Energy Act, known as the WindSeeG.

A Look Beyond 2027

Earlier in October, the BSH used the second amendment of the 2025 Site Development Plan to improve conditions for the 2027 tenders in the short term. The new preliminary draft looks further ahead, setting out the outlook for the years that follow. The BSH said the procedure must be completed in time for the tenders in 2028.

BSH President Helge Heegewaldt said that the expansion of offshore wind farms and their grid connections must go hand in hand. The agency's aim, he said, is to give companies long-term planning certainty while preserving flexibility for future developments. He described the effort as continuing the success story of offshore expansion.

Heegewaldt also explained why the BSH is running its procedure in parallel with the WindSeeG amendment. That timing allows statutory decisions to flow into the sectoral planning promptly, he said. Adjustments arising from the parliamentary procedure currently under way will be taken into account in the further course of the Site Development Plan process.

Fewer Grid Connections, Lower Costs

A central building block of the planning is so-called overbuilding. Under this approach, wind turbines with more capacity are installed on an area than the grid connection can transmit. The BSH explained that this is possible because turbines rarely reach their maximum output at the same time, which allows the grid connection to be better utilized.

As a result of overbuilding and other measures, the BSH is dispensing with five grid connections that earlier planning had still foreseen. According to the agency, this saves costs in the double-digit billions. It also means significantly fewer cable routes are needed, which avoids crossing sensitive coastal sea areas.

Lower Power Density, Wider Spacing

For the newly designated wind farm areas, the BSH is planning with a lower power density, meaning less wind farm capacity installed per square kilometer. The turbines can therefore stand farther apart and influence each other less, which improves electricity yields.

Each of the newly designated areas is planned for 1,100 megawatts of capacity. Until now, the figure was regularly 2,000 megawatts. The BSH stated that the statutory expansion target of 70 gigawatts by 2045 would continue to be met.

A Different Development Sequence Under Review

The BSH is also examining a different sequence for expansion. Rather than planning wind farm areas step by step from the coast toward the open sea, the agency is considering a more spatially distributed development.

In that case, larger open spaces could remain between already developed areas and wind farms added later for a longer period. The aim is to prevent wind farms from influencing each other too strongly while the areas designated for wind energy are not yet fully built out.

To test this, the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems (IWES) produced yield simulations. According to the BSH, these show that higher overall electricity yields would be possible over time with such an approach. The agency has published the simulation results together with the other documents.

Adjustments to Protect Seabirds

The BSH has also adjusted the planning of wind farm areas with regard to seabirds, which it said protects the marine environment better. Area N-17 is shifted to the southeast, and area N-16 is adjusted on a small scale along its northwestern edge.

The Strategic Environmental Assessment will examine the effects on the marine environment in the further course of the procedure. Measures to avoid or reduce the environmental impacts of offshore wind expansion will also be set out.

Acceleration Areas and Subsequent Use

The preliminary draft provides for five acceleration areas, which are to be designated at plan level for the first time and which are envisaged in the European Renewable Energy Directive (RED III).

It also presents scenarios for the subsequent use of existing areas. The planning on subsequent use sets the framework for continued operation of existing wind farms. Possible stipulations are to be made more concrete in the course of the procedure.

Planning Long-Term, Staying Flexible

The preliminary draft shows the long-term perspective. With the update, however, the BSH expects to designate only those areas and grid connections that go into operation by around the end of the 2030s.

According to the agency, this gives grid expansion in particular the necessary planning certainty while leaving room for later decisions. How far the designations should extend in practice is open to consultation.

Next Steps

The BSH is inviting stakeholders to a hearing on January 19, 2027, at the Hamburg Chamber of Crafts. Based on all feedback received, the BSH will then prepare a draft together with environmental reports, on which authorities and the public can comment again.

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