Vattenfall will exercise its legal entry right for an almost gigawatt-scale offshore wind zone in the German North Sea, snatching the area away from rival utility RWE that won it in a tender with a zero-subsidy bid.

German grids agency BNetzA earlier on Wednesday said RWE Renewables had won the auction for the 980MW N-7.2 zone located at some 85km northwest of the East Frisian Islands.