The realisation of offshore wind park projects in Germany - political environment, legal framework and bankability implications

Inhaltsangabe:Introduction: 1.1 Motivation and objective of thesis: According to the German government the future German energy mix shall be mainly based on renewable energy sources. Offshore wind energy plays a key role in this new energy strategy and is expected to provide the major share of renewable energy to be produced in Germany in the future. Nevertheless, the German offshore wind energy sector has developed much slower than expected, despite considerable supporting efforts taken by the government. Compared to other European countries, there is only little installed offshore wind energy capacity available in Germany today, but the German legislator’s medium-term growth targets for this industry are enormous. In this context, the following two questions are to be asked: Does the German government turn a blind eye to the contradictory development just mentioned and/or is there reason for hope that the German offshore wind energy sector will accelerate and grow much stronger in the future? The purpose of this thesis is to describe the general conditions applicable in Germany, which a project developer or potential investor has to consider when planning an offshore wind park (OWP) in the German exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Furthermore, it analyses specific challenges related to the realisation of such kind of projects, identifies existing problems, and outlines possible solutions where appropriate. In doing so, the following chapters will mainly focus on the political environment for the offshore wind energy industry in Germany, the relevant legal framework applicable when realising an OWP, as well as on the bankability challenges a project developer might be exposed to when trying to secure a debt financing for an OWP project in Germany. Apart from giving a theoretical overview about the main subjects referred to above, this thesis also tries to address recent developments one can observe in practice. Hence, personal interviews have been conducted with experienced practitioners to get a better picture of the current market situation in general and possible future developments, as well as to get a practical insight into the mandatory OWP approval process and the recent perceptions and sentiments of banks involved in the financing of OWP in Germany. 1.2 Structure of thesis: The following Section 2 contains definitions of some key terms used throughout this thesis. Subsequently, a brief illustration of the European and German offshore [...]