Windletter #134 - Onshore auctions in Germany hit their lowest price since 2018
Also: the MySE 18.5-260 obtains its Provisional Type Certificate, concrete gravity-based foundations in offshore, wakes in offshore wind farms seen from satellite, and more.
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This week’s main news has been, without a doubt, the debate around the so-called “Wind Airbus”.
It all started with a trial balloon launched by José Manuel Entrecanales, president of Acciona (a 47% shareholder of Nordex), during the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the merger between Nordex and Acciona Windpower. Statements that the public debate has picked up with particular interest.
For my part, I promised to provide an analysis and share my opinion on this topic, but it will be in a future edition.
The most-read items from the last edition were: the video of the world’s largest wind turbine installed at sea, the analysis of OEM market share in Germany, the pipeline of mature floating offshore wind farms.
Now, let’s get to this week’s news.
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🇩🇪 Onshore auctions in Germany hit their lowest price since 2018
In Windletter #128 we explained in detail how onshore wind auctions work in Germany: four rounds per year, mandatory prior permit under the BImSchG, a 30 k€/MW bond, and a “one-sided CfD” guaranteed for 20 years (that is, if the market price is below the awarded price, the developer receives the awarded price).
It’s a system and a set of conditions that have been working well for years and that continues to send very clear market signals in Germany. The most recent signal came with the results released on 31 March. And the numbers are striking. In a good way.
The European wind locomotive keeps moving at cruising speed. And I keep trying to understand why, to grasp the particularities of its market. What is Germany doing to achieve this success in its onshore sector?
The auction data: lowest price since 2018
A total of 3,445 MW was auctioned, and 924 bids were submitted with a total volume of 7,858 MW. This level of participation is not unusual in Germany: in the November 2025 auction there were also 8,155 MW bidding for 3,456 MW of awarded volume. It is the seventh consecutive round with oversubscription.
Of the 924 bids, 439 were awarded, completing the entire auctioned volume. If you look closely, that gives just 7.84 MW per awarded bid. So I started thinking: how is that possible?
It turns out that in Germany, each bid is linked to a prior authorisation under the BImSchG. In the development process, the developer requests permission for each turbine (or very small group) at a specific location, and with that permit they submit their bid to the auction. That is, the 439 awarded mostly correspond to single machines or very small groups. Although in practice, the same developer may hold several single-turbine permits at nearby locations.
96% of German onshore wind generation connects to the distribution grid, mainly at medium voltage, typically 10-30 kV, or at distribution-level high voltage, usually 110 kV.
This does not necessarily mean that each turbine has a fully independent connection: in practice, several machines from the same wind farm may be grouped at a common connection point, and depending on the project size, a substation may be required.
In any case, by connecting mostly through distribution networks, there aren’t always high-voltage substations or overhead lines as is common in other countries and in larger-scale projects. This can reduce the scope of the evacuation infrastructure in some cases.
The most striking point, however, is the price. The weighted average price fell to 55.4 €/MWh, down from 60.6 €/MWh in the previous round. Winning bids ranged between 51.9 €/MWh and 56.4 €/MWh. It is the lowest level since February 2018 and well below the 72.5 €/MWh price cap set by the agency for this year. A truly competitive price.
Why have prices dropped so much?
The most obvious reason seems to be competition. When 7.9 GW are competing for 3.4 GW, developers who want to secure the award have to sharpen their pencil. Nobody is going to ask 70 €/MWh if they know that the project next door is willing to work at 53 €/MWh. Even if that means giving up some profitability.
Although in Germany, the awarded price is later corrected based on the actual wind resource quality of the site. A wind farm with strong wind can win the auction with a low bid, but its regulated value is then adjusted downwards. And a wind farm with worse resource, if it wins with that same bid, gets adjusted upwards. It’s all quite complex, but the aim is to prevent areas with weaker wind from being automatically left out of the auction.
In addition, the 20-year tariff with a guaranteed price floor practically turns wind farms into regulated assets, so the returns demanded by investors can be lower than in “merchant” projects.
But competition itself is a consequence of permitting having worked. As we covered in #128, Germany approved a record of 20.8 GW of onshore permits in 2025. That means there is a huge pool of projects with valid authorisations in the process of entering auctions.
Of course, with a larger number of permitted projects, it’s logical to think that there will also be a share of projects with better technical conditions, greater maturity, lower costs, or better resource, that can accept a lower tariff (and still make the numbers work).
Another point we haven’t mentioned and that deserves attention is turbine prices. After an inflationary period and the post-OEM-crisis and Ukraine-war price surge, are prices starting to stabilise (or even drop) now that some manufacturers are again posting green margins? We honestly don’t know, and we’d have to wait for OEM results to see the evolution of the ASP (Average Selling Price) of signed contracts, but it would be another important driver. However, since the ASP encompasses different markets, models, and price ranges, it is not easy to interpret either.
Note: if anyone reading from Germany wants to point out an error or clarify something, I’d be very grateful.
🏗️ Everest Project: Goldwind to install a 166-metre hybrid tower in Brazil
Casa dos Ventos, Goldwind and Cortez Engenharia have announced the Everest Project: a prototype precast concrete hybrid tower with a hub height of 166 metres, the tallest ever installed in Brazil, for a GWH182-7.5 MW assembled at Goldwind’s factory in Camaçari. Counting from the ground to the blade tip, the assembly reaches 257 metres.
The central element of the project is the self-erecting system that allows the tower to be installed without the need for cranes over 135 metres, equipment currently not available in Brazil, particularly inland, where reaching competitive hub heights with conventional cranes is expensive or directly unfeasible. I haven’t been able to find details on the tower’s assembly process.
The tower is built from precast concrete segments that are joined on site through tensioning and grout (high-strength cement), although the exact details are unknown.
The total investment is around €16 million (94.9 million Brazilian reais), with support from Finep, the public body linked to Brazil’s Ministry of Science and Technology that finances technological innovation projects.
The Everest Project is a demonstration that Goldwind isn’t just passing through Brazil, but is committed to developing technology adapted to the conditions of the market. And of course, tall concrete towers are a clear trend.
🇵🇭 The Philippines launches its first major offshore auction: 3.3 GW of fixed-bottom
The Philippine Department of Energy has opened registration for the GEA-5, the fifth edition of its Green Energy Auction, dedicated entirely to fixed-bottom offshore wind. In total, 3.3 GW will be auctioned with commissioning dates between 2028 and 2030.
The evaluation of candidates began on 17 March, the list of qualified bidders is expected on 3 July, and the winners will be announced on 22 September.
The auction had previously been delayed due to bottlenecks in ports and grid capacity. In that regard, the Philippine Ports Authority has already awarded a contract to convert the port of Mercedes (Camarines Norte) into an offshore installation hub. Although its schedule fits poorly with the 2028-2030 CODs, which are truly optimistic.
An Aegir Insights analysis points out that the price cap set by the ERC, at around €160/MWh, may be insufficient for some projects unless supply costs come down or developers accept lower returns. And there is another problem: for an emerging market, the lack of long-term visibility complicates things. Is anyone going to build a single farm without having any more medium-term outlook?
The Philippines has an extraordinary offshore wind resource in some areas. That this auction is the first real one is already a milestone, but the timelines (operational projects in 2028-2030 with registration opening now in March 2026) are far too optimistic.
🌊 On concrete gravity-based foundations in offshore
Two recent reflections on a technology that remains more marginal than perhaps it deserves.
The first is from Paul O’Brien, who recalls the case of the Blyth Offshore Wind Demonstrator (United Kingdom, 2018): EDF and BAM Nuttall installed five 8.4 MW Vestas turbines on concrete gravity-based foundations (referred to as Hybrid Gravity Based Foundations).
The structures were towed to the site, ballasted, and sunk to their final location. No seabed drilling, no noise, no specialised installation vessel.
And the question he raises is a fair one: why does concrete remain such an unpopular option for developers? More information on the foundations on the Institution of Civil Engineers website.
The second is from Javier Abánades, who goes one step further: his internal studies explore whether a gravity-based foundation can be viable at water depths beyond 60 metres, maintaining stability during transport and installation, and using a conventional crane vessel.
If it works, it opens the door to a competitive foundation in conditions that until now were considered out of reach for concrete.
As you may know, concrete has clear advantages: local supply chain, lower exposure to steel volatility, improved carbon footprint compared to steel, and yet it remains the rare option in offshore.
We already discussed it in #65, where we covered the argument that concrete should be the way for European offshore wind. Years later, the question still has no clear answer.
📜 The Ming Yang MySE 18.5-260 obtains its Provisional Type Certificate from TÜV Nord
TÜV Nord has issued the Provisional Type Certificate for the MySE 18.5-260 from Ming Yang Smart Energy, the offshore wind turbine of 18.5 MW and a 260-metre rotor diameter that the Chinese company has designed specifically for the international market.
And what does this mean? A Provisional Type Certificate confirms that the design meets the structural requirements evaluated up to that point, but the full certificate includes additional modules: loads, electrical systems, protections, operating manual, etc. That is, the turbine does have a substantial part of its design validated by an independent European entity, but it does not yet hold a full certificate.
This certificate comes shortly after the rejection of the factory in Scotland (which we covered as the main feature in edition #133). But Ming Yang has not changed its plans to enter Europe.
Recently, Ming Yang’s Europe CEO, Horatio Evers, commented in Windpowermonthly that after the rejection of the factory in Scotland they have received requests from other European countries interested in attracting the investment. “We are not here to kill other OEMs, but to compete,” said Evers, adding that in floating “there is no solution in the market yet” and that European developers are asking for their presence.
🇰🇿 TotalEnergies to build a 1 GW wind farm + 600 MWh BESS in Kazakhstan
TotalEnergies has taken the final investment decision on the Mirny project, an onshore wind farm of 1 GW with 150 turbines in southeastern Kazakhstan, combined with a 600 MWh storage system.
Total investment amounts to $1.2 billion, with around 75% externally financed by a consortium that includes the EBRD, Proparco, DEG, Société Générale, China Construction Bank and Standard Chartered, among others.
The vehicle company is called Aktas Energy and ownership is split between TotalEnergies (60%), KazMunayGas, Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company (20%), and Samruk Energy, the power subsidiary of the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign wealth fund (20%). The project is also integrated into the 50/50 joint venture that TotalEnergies has just established with Masdar to deploy renewables in nine Asian countries.
The project operates under a 25-year PPA with the Government of Kazakhstan signed in 2023, expected to generate around 4 TWh/year.
As for the turbines, the 150 units will be Chinese: Envision and Sany Renewable Energy, which will share the supply. Sany will provide 7.7 MW models, part of which will come from the first wind turbine factory in Kazakhstan.
It’s no coincidence: in Windletter #99 we already reported that both manufacturers had announced local production capacity in the country. Central Asia is becoming almost exclusive territory for Chinese OEMs: competitive cost, willingness to localise manufacturing, and access to Chinese public financing (the China Construction Bank itself is among the financiers of the project).
☁️ Wakes in offshore wind farms, seen from satellite
Samuel Davoust and Florian Rebeyrat, from the startup Tipspeed, have shared on LinkedIn some satellite images taken over offshore wind farms.
In them, the wakes from the wind turbines over a wind farm can be seen with surprising clarity. And I wondered: are the wind turbines “modifying” the shape of the clouds, or are they “creating” the clouds?
It turns out, the phenomenon isn’t that the wakes “shape” existing clouds, but that they trigger cloud formation by causing small temperature changes in the atmosphere. That’s why in the image there are no clouds upwind of the turbines and there are clouds downwind.
According to the startup, capturing this image from a satellite is pure luck. By the way, Tipspeed uses this type of imagery to detect yaw misalignment in wind turbines. A truly interesting application.
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Disclaimer: The opinions presented in Windletter are mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.