No bids for Denmark's largest offshore wind farm

"This is a very disappointing result which (...) can have many explanations," reacted Energy Minister Lars Aagaard in a press release, specifying that he had asked the Energy Agency to question the players in the sector on the reason for their lukewarm attitude.

Earlier in the day, Swedish state-owned energy group Vattenfall announced that it would not participate in the auction due to the economic situation.

"The winds are good and the seabed is good, but economically it did not justify us making an offer," Vattenfall spokesman Rasmus Helveg Petersen told the daily Finans.

Offshore wind suffers from high construction costs and interest rates.

"The situation (...) in Europe has changed considerably in a relatively short time," the minister acknowledged.

Denmark is banking on this energy to accelerate its green transition.

Production from offshore wind turbines stood at 2,7 gigawatts, according to the Energy Agency, but the government aims to increase its wind capacity to 14 gigawatts by 2030.

The 6 GW are divided into six wind farms, three of which -- North Sea I A1, A2 and A3 -- were the subject of the call for tenders which closed on December 5.

For the last three (Hesselø, Kattegat and Kriegers Flak II), the deadline for submitting bids is 1 April 2025.