Dong Germany manager rejects claims subsidy-free offshore wind bid was strategic

Danish offshore wind company Dong’s subsidy-free bid at Germany’s first auction for new offshore wind parks was based on sound economics, Martin Neubert, managing director of the company’s German operations, said at the Hanover Fair 2017, Germany’s largest industrial fair. Neubert rejected claims that majority-owned Danish state company had put in a politically motivated or strategic bid. Since nearly 50 percent of the listed company was now owned by outside investors, the calculation had to be economically sound, Neubert told the Clean Energy Wire at the fair. Since offshore installations could now be built without subsidies, the current system of planning and regulation through Germany’s Maritime and Hydrographic Agency for offshore projects was now questionable. If offshore did not need subsidies and companies were able to provide connection to the grid, they should be treated like any other power producing facility, Neubert said.

 Find more background in the news story on the result of Germany’s first offshore auction.