The Danish Energy Agency (DEA) published the final contract material for the concession to build and operate the Horns Rev 3 offshore wind farm on Friday, following the final approval from the parties behind the Energy Agreement from 2012.
The deadline for bids for the 400MW Horns Rev 3 is February 16, 2015. A version with track-changes compared to the preliminary tender conditions and new Danish guidelines for underwater noise are enclosed in the new documents.
“Tender documents are the result of a long and fruitful dialogue with the market and the latest intensive negotiations with prequalified bidders. The bidders have put a great and professional work in participating in the bidding process,” DEA says. The aim of the process has been to lower the cost of offshore wind turbines.
This May, the DEA prequalified Statoil ASA , E.ON Wind Europe AB, Vattenfall Wind Power A / S and DONG Energy Wind Power A/S for the tender of the Horns Rev 3 offshore wind farm.
A reservation for approval by the European Commission has been included in the tender material for Horns Rev 3 as well as a reservation for funding of the Horns Rev 3 project.
In the DEA’s dialogue with the European Commission regarding the state aid cases on renewable energy, the Commission has presented the view that the tendering model for Horns Rev 3 also could constitute state aid and for this reason needs to be notified to the European Commission.
The DEA is therefore engaged in an intensive dialogue with the Commission with the shared aim of processing the case on a fast track. The European Commission has already received information on the tendering model for Horns Rev 3 including the preliminary tender material for Horns Rev 3.
Next step is a formal notification of the tendering model for Horns Rev 3 including the final tender material. Following the dialogue with the Commission, the DEA has expressed hope that the Commission may be able to present a state aid decision before the deadline for the final offer. If the decision from the Commission is received before the signing of the contract, the reservation will be removed from the contract.
The reservation on funding is a result of the dialogue with the European Commission from this autumn. The dialogue has highlighted problems with discrimination in the way the Public Service Obligation (PSO) is currently designed. The PSO is the major source of funding of all subsidies provided to renewable energy projects in Denmark, including offshore wind power.
The Danish government and the political parties behind the Energy Agreement 2012 are committed to finding a solution to the problems in the beginning of the next year. For that purpose an inter- ministerial task force has been created with the aim of presenting a solution in March 2015.
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Source: Danish energy Agency; Image: bm-arkitekter