Publication on the use of spare offshore grid connection capacities

As a result of the current handling of offshore grid connection capacities, existing production capacities of offshore wind farms remain unused, although their use is technically possible. In addition, the wind farm operators have a claim to total off-take of the electricity produced.

The legal opinion of the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) and the Transmission System Operators (Übertragungsnetzbetreiber), according to which the capacity allocations are the limit for the legal claim to total off-take and thus unused grid connection capacities must remain unused, is questionable and, in our opinion, incorrect. In the latest edition of InfrastrukturRecht (InfrastrukturRecht Nr. 9, 19. Jahrgang, 2022, p. 235 et seqq.), Felix Fischer and Hannah Randau explain the reasons for this.