EnBW has set up a subsidiary in the Netherlands geared at the participation in the tendering process for the Hollandse Kust South offshore zone, but it is yet unclear whether that means the German utility will actually bid in the country’s zero subsidy auction in December.

An EnBW press official in Germany confirmed the foundation of the Dutch subsidiary with the name EnBW Wind op Zee (in English: “EnBW wind at sea”), but said in the run-up to auctions the company for competitive reasons does not comment on possible participations.

Dutch corporate information register Company.info - a service of the FD media group - says the new EnBW unit has been registered in September with the aim of “ participating in the tendering process for the construction and operation of the offshore Holland South Holland wind farm, as well as holding and financing activities.”

Company.info obtains its information from sources such as the Dutch commercial register.

The Netherlands in December will hold a zero subsidy auction for the 700MW Hollandse Kust South 1&2 offshore zone, following the game-changing results of Germany’s first offshore wind tender in April, in which 1.38GW of offshore acreage was allocated to zero-subsidy bids. Only if no valid bids were to be made will the government hold an auction for subsidies.

EnBW had won with a zero bid for the 900MW He Dreith array in the North Sea, and is thus considered a serious contender in case it were to bid for Hollandse Kust South without asking for a subsidy.

But the utility could also wait for a possible later auction with subsidies, or an auction planned for 2018 for the nearby Hollandse Kust South 3&4 zone.

Bidding without a subsidy for Hollandse Kust South 1&2 seems more risky than the German zero subsidy bids as developers will have less time to build the Dutch offshore arrays.

The Dutch wind parks must be commissioned within four years of this year’s tender, while the German arrays only need to come online in 2024/25, when much larger offshore turbines are expected to be on the market and electricity prices are expected to rise. That is expected to push down the price of energy.