German Wind Farm Grid Connections Will Cost About $15 Billion

Transporting wind power from the North Sea to German consumers will cost about 12 billion euros ($15 billion), grid operator TenneT TSO GmbH said.

TenneT has earmarked 6 billion euros to build grid connection projects and is in talks with the German government to make sure that another 6 billion euros can be raised, Martin Fuchs, the head of the operator, said today in Berlin.

“We are in promising talks with the government to especially clear up the liability question, which would then enable us to find investors,” Fuchs told reporters. “I’m convinced this will be solved.”

Germany aims to install 25 gigawatts of sea-based wind- turbines in its waters by 2030. Utilities EON AG and RWE AG (RWE) have called on the government to eradicate delays in connecting their wind farms to the grid. They’re also concerned about who will compensate them for the delays, which they blame on a lack of capital at grid operators and issues with acquiring cables and transformer stations.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stefan Nicola in Berlin at snicola2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net