It was a bit of a gamble when the Dutch government earlier this year decided to initially try a zero-subsidy round for the 700MW Hollandse Kust South 1&2 zone, only offering support if there were no takers.

After Germany in April allocated 1.38GW in offshore acreage to utilities EnBW and Orsted (formerly Dong) which bid without expecting any subsidy, it was by no means certain that such a result could be replicated elsewhere.