AquaVentus welcomes WindSeeG amendment Berlin; could save tens of billions of euros
AquaVentus welcomes WindSeeG amendment but calls for greater ambition
Berlin, 17 August 2026. The amendment to the Offshore Wind Energy Act (WindSeeG) initiated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is, in AquaVentus’s view, the urgently needed impetus to harness the potential of offshore wind energy efficiently. Crucially, however, AquaVentus notes that the draft bill provides, for the first time, for combined connection concepts enabling the flexible generation of electricity and hydrogen at sea.
With two-way contracts for difference, a reliable tendering pathway and an extension of the operating period, the draft bill addresses key barriers to investment. By removing the previous connection ban for other energy generation areas and explicitly naming electrolysers as an intended use case, the draft bill creates, for the first time, a robust legal basis for grid-serving offshore electrolysis.
“We explicitly welcome the fact that the benefits of combined connection concepts have finally been recognised and that the coalition agreement is being implemented,” says Robert Seehawer, Managing Director of AquaVentus. “Given rising grid costs, this is good news. Combined connection concepts could save tens of billions of euros.” The Grid Development Plan 2037
2045 sets out investment costs for offshore grid connection systems, of which, according to AquaVentus calculations, around 56 to 59 billion euros could be avoided if energy were transported to shore as hydrogen via pipeline rather than via additional power lines.
Why should combined connections be permitted only in selected areas? From the association’s perspective, it is not comprehensible why sector coupling should initially be permitted only in selected areas. The commercial case for producing either electricity or hydrogen depending on market signals is well documented in numerous studies. At the same time, nobody would be obliged to make use of this option: a statutory opening creates a choice, not an obligation. “It would be a bit like fighting a fire on only one side of the street first, to see whether it goes out on the other side by itself,” says Seehawer pointedly. “This amendment already makes the next amendment necessary, and risks being outdated before it is even passed.”
Proposal for the parliamentary procedure: crediting instead of capping. Grid expansion ties up tens of billions of euros, and industry is calling for secure and affordable sources of green gases. AquaVentus therefore expects improvements during the parliamentary procedure and proposes that wind energy capacity within other energy generation areas be explicitly credited towards the 70 GW offshore wind expansion target. This is also the most cost-efficient route to the 70 GW target: the capacity at SEN-1 can make use of the existing NOR-10-1 converter platform via a 66 kV connection. A dedicated additional connection system, which according to the explanatory memorandum would cost around 5 to 10 billion euros, would not be required. Sector-coupled areas are therefore not a special case alongside the 70 GW pathway, but one of its most cost-effective forms.
Legislation and spatial planning must proceed in parallel. AquaVentus is therefore also addressing this appeal to the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH). A recent Ramboll study commissioned by AquaVentus identifies the areas N-14, N-16 and N-19 as the Zone 4
5 areas offering the greatest systemic and economic value for future large-scale offshore hydrogen production. This spatial basis should be mapped out as part of the ongoing update to the Site Development Plan for Zones 4 and 5, while the Ministry prepares the legislative opening. Only if both levels move together will the phased ramp-up succeed.
AquaVentus welcomes WindSeeG amendment but calls for greater ambition
Draft bill limits combined connection concepts to selected areas