Economics Minister Reiche reacts to the states' wind power fire letter

Federal Economics Minister Reiche responds to state demands for wind power As of: October 27, 2026 • 9:24 a.m

Several federal states warned Economics Minister Reiche of a “thread break” in the expansion of wind energy at sea. The CDU politician now wants to respond to a central demand. Investors should be able to return land.

Wind energy at sea should play an important role in the energy transition. However, interest in tenders for offshore wind areas off the German coast has fallen sharply. Federal Economics Minister Katherina Reiche wants to make tenders and projects more economical in the future with a reform. But the CDU politician and several federal states disagree about the path. Now the minister is responding to a request from the Prime Minister.

Investors should be able to return offshore land that they have already purchased if they do not want to implement their wind farm projects. If individual projects turn out to be no longer economically feasible, an "orderly return and new award" should be made possible - without releasing the companies from their financial obligations, the CDU politician told the dpa news agency.

Federal Economics Minister Reiche wants to close the gap in the expansion of offshore wind power.

In 2023 and 2024, offshore wind areas for around 16 gigawatts were awarded, said Reiche. "However, known economic and technical risks were not taken into account or ignored. The German offshore wind auction system had significant deficiencies." There was a gap between commandment and implementation.

“It is now our task to close this gap. Our goal is to ensure that the sometimes unrealistic contracts awarded at the time actually become wind farms.” Economic damage should be avoided and the projects should be placed on a sustainable basis, said Reiche. “This was missed in previous years.” Companies remained responsible.

Increased prices are delaying the start of new wind farm projects in the North Sea. Experts therefore want to reduce risks for investors. ndr

Eight prime ministers had previously gotten together and written an incendiary letter to the rich. There were warnings against “wrong regulatory and industrial policy decisions”. A possible “thread break” in offshore wind energy could become an industrial policy risk for Germany.

The heads of government demanded that affected wind areas be put out to tender quickly. Otherwise there would be a risk of billions in lost sales and major job cuts in the industry.

The letter states: "Current figures show how serious the situation is. If the expansion continues, around 23,000 of 49,000 jobs in the offshore wind industry could be lost in the next four years, with a loss of sales of around 24 billion euros." The first suppliers have already cut jobs. Entire offshore locations with their networks of industry, ports and service providers are affected.

The letter was signed by eight heads of government - from Lower Saxony, Bavaria, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Baden-Württemberg, Bremen, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein.

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The background to the letter is: According to reports, corporations want to return the concession for wind farm projects in exchange for compensation. The French oil and gas company TotalEnergies justified this in June with delays in the grid connection. The reasons for the stalled expansion: The costs of building wind farms have increased, there are supply chain problems and the revenue prospects are uncertain.

The letter from the states stated that what was necessary was a “unique, clearly conditioned and legally secure return option” with a new tender in a timely manner. Projects that can no longer be implemented should not block areas and network capacities. However, the federal government's previous draft law states: "A unilateral return of surcharges is still not planned."

With Reiche giving in, the states' concerns should now be dispelled. The minister now hopes to get her law passed by the Bundestag and Bundesrat.

With information from Jan Zimmermann, Capital Studio

This topic in the program: NDR Info | News | Oct 27, 2026 | 8:00 a.m