German and Danish utilities EnBW and Dong Energy have stunned the wind industry with the world’s first winning bids in offshore development without asking for any subsidy, meaning that one EnBW and two Dong projects will receive only the wholesale electricity price when it is commissioned in the mid-2020's.

EnBW's won with a zero subsidy bid for its 900MW He Dreith array in the North Sea that is scheduled for commissioning in 2025, while Dong won with subsidy-free bids for its OWP West and Borkum Riffgrund West projects that each have a capacity of 240MW and are earmarked for commissioning in 2024.