Germany Unveils First North Sea Offshore Wind-Power Network Plan

Germany unveiled plans for its North Sea power transmission network as Europe’s biggest economy seeks to connect about 25 gigawatts of offshore wind turbines to help replace nuclear reactors Chancellor Angela Merkel is closing.

Grid companies need to install 25 converter platforms and about 3,880 kilometers (2,400 miles) of subsea power cables, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency, or BSH, said today in an e-mailed statement as it unveiled the legally binding plan.

The outline, which sets standards and locations, “is the world’s first systematic power network plan in the offshore sector,” said Monika Breuch-Moritz, president of BSH. “The capacities have been set so that the German government’s 2030 energy targets can be achieved in principle.”

Merkel wants to add 25,000 megawatts of offshore turbines by 2030, about the same capacity as 25 nuclear plants. About 280 megawatts are operating currently. The expansion has been delayed amid wrangling over financial risk-sharing and upgrading the transmission grid.

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