Preliminary Investigation of Sites

Offshore wind farm

The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) investigates the areas designated in the Site Development Plan for tendering procedure by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) and wind farm construction. The marine environment, subsoil, wind and oceanographic conditions as well as the traffic suitability of the area are investigated and compiled in reports. Based on the results of the investigation, the BSH examines the suitability of the area. If the BSH comes to the conclusion that the site is suitable, it declares its suitability by statutory order and the results of the investigation are transmitted to the BNetzA for the tendering procedure. Furthermore, the results are made available via the Data Hub of the Preliminary Investigation of Sites.

Most of the investigations are not carried out by the BSH itself, but are commissioned within the framework of public tenders. The results of the investigations and reports are published by the BNetzA for the tendering of areas designated for the construction and operation of offshore wind turbines. On this basis, interested companies can submit bids for the amount of compensation they need.

The investigation results also serve the company that was awarded the contract in the tender procedure as a basis for the subsequent planning approval procedure to be carried out at the BSH. On this basis, the applicant will prepare an environmental impact study for the construction project.

Latest news

Latest news on current procedures can be found under "procedures and current status".

01.03.2024: Public display of the documents on the determination of suitability for sites N-9.1, N-9.2 and N-9.3

On 20 February 2024, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) determined the suitability of sites N-9.1, N-9.2 and N-9.3 for tendering by the Federal Network Agency pursuant to Part 3 Section 5 of the Wind Energy at Sea Act (WindSeeG) by means of an ordinance. The Fourth Ordinance on the Implementation of the Wind Energy at Sea Act (4. WindSeeV) was published in the Federal Law Gazette (BGBl. 2024 I No. 52) on 22 February 2024.

In accordance with Section 12 paragraph 5 sentence 9 of the WindSeeG in conjunction with Section 44 paragraph 2 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (UVPG), the BSH shall make the following documents available for inspection in its libraries:

  • Fourth Ordinance on the Implementation of the Wind Energy at Sea Act of 20 February 2024
  • Suitability examination of sites N-9.1, N-9.2 and N-9.3
  • Environmental Report site N-9.1
  • Environmental Report site N-9.2
  • Environmental Report site N-9.3
  • Supplementary summarising declaration

Reference is made to the public announcement.

The documents on display as well as supplementary information are also published on the BSH website for the respective site.

16.11.2023: Draft investigation frameworks for sites N-13.1, N-13.2, and N-6.8 (before N-21.1)

On 16.11.2023, the BSH announced the initiation of the preliminary investigation of the areas N-13.1, N-13.2, and N-6.8 (before N-21.1) in the EEZ of the North Sea for offshore wind turbines. Sites N-13.1 and N-13.2 are defined as Sites for offshore wind energy in the Site Development Plan 2023 and put out to tender by the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) in 2026.

Site N-6.8 is designated as site N-21.1 in the Site Development Plan 2023, but has now been renamed as part on update procedures in Site N-6.8 in the preliminary draft of the Site Development Plan published on 1 September 2023. Site N-6.8 will be tendered in 2027 and put into operation in 2032.

Reference is made to the public announcement (only available in German).

Information on the intended subject and scope of the preliminary investigations is summarised in the following document:

19.10.2023: Announcement of the discussion hearing on the suitability assessment for sites N-9.1, N-9.2 and N-9.3

On 31. August 2023, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) notified that the draft of the suitability examination, the draft of the determination of suitability and the drafts of the environmental reports for the sites N-9.1, N-9.2 and N-9.3, which will be put out to tender in calender year 2029, are publically displayed in Hamburg and Rostock in the period from 01. September 2023 to 04. October 2023 in German language.

Note: The final reports of the hydrographic survey still refers to four sites in area N-9, as it was defined in the Site Development Plan 2020. The area allocations only changed after the hydrographic surveys were carried out as part of the update of the Site Development Plan. The aforementioned investigations covered the entire area of the three sites now defined in the Site Development Plan 2023.

Reference is made to the public notification.

The BSH will be held a discussion hearing on 22. November 2023. For further Information see our public notfication.

The documents on display as well as supplementary information are also published on the BSH website for the respective site.

01.03.2023: Information summary on the preliminary investigation of sites N-3.5, N-3.6, N-6.6 and N-6.7

For information only, the results of the central preliminary investigations of sites have been summarized in a booklet.
Further information on the preliminary investigations of sites including all reports, data and other products are published at: pinta.bsh.de

Broschüre zur Flächenvoruntersuchung der Flächen N-3.5, N-3.6, N-6.6 und N-6.7 (PDF, 8MB, Barrier-free file)

01.03.2023: Public display of the documents on the determination of suitability for sites N-6.6 and N-6.7

On 5 January 2023, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) determined the suitability of sites N-6.6 and N-6.7 for tendering by the Federal Network Agency pursuant to Part 3 Section 5 of the Wind Energy at Sea Act (WindSeeG) by means of an ordinance. The Third Ordinance on the Implementation of the Wind Energy at Sea Act (3. WindSeeV) was published in the Federal Law Gazette (BGBl 2023 I Nr. 8) on 11 January 2023.
In accordance with Section 12 paragraph 5 sentence 9 of the WindSeeG in conjunction with Section 44 paragraph 2 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (UVPG), the BSH shall make the following documents available for inspection in its libraries:

  • Third Ordinance on the Implementation of the Wind Energy at Sea Act of 5 January 2023 (German)
  • Suitability examination of sites N-6.6 and N-6.7 (German)
  • Environmental Report site N-6.6 (German)
  • Environmental Report site N-6.7 (German)
  • Supplementary summary statement on the adoption of the plan (German)

Reference is made to the public notification.

The documents on display as well as supplementary information are also published on the BSH website for the respective site. Most documents are available in English.

16.09.2022: Final investigation frameworks of sites N-9.1, N-9.2, N-9.3, N-10.1 and N-10.2

On 5 September 2022, the BSH defined the investigation framework for the site investigation and strategic environmental assessment of sites for offshore wind farms. The sites are to be put out to public tender in 2024 or 2025 for development by third parties. The documents and further information for sites N-9.1, N-9.2, N-9.3, N-10.1 und N-10.2 in the North Sea EEZ are listed below.

Reference is made to the public notification.

The following documents were published on 16 September 2022:

FlächeDokumentDatum
N-9.1, N-9.2, N-9.3Investigation Framework for sites of area N-9 (only available in German)16.09.2022
N-10.1, N-10.2Investigation Framework for sites of area N-10 (only available in German)16.09.2022

29.07.2022: Further revisions available in the Data Hub PINTA for site N-7.2

Revisions are available in the Data Hub PINTA for site N-7.2. A revision of the data set “In Situ Sea State Data” was added to the data package “In Situ Data”, and revisions of the data sets “WAM Wave Model Data” and “HAMSOM Hydrographic Model Data” were added to the data package “Model Data”.

The revisions supplement the investigation results and documents of the preliminary site investigation published with the announcement of the invitation to tender. They solely add supplementary data which are not necessary for assessing the site but which can be used to improve interpretation of the data which have already been published. The investigation results and documents published with the announcement of the tender remain without change.

29.07.2022: Publication of final reports

The BSH supplements its documents already published on 27 May 2022 as part of the procedure for the suitability assessment of sites N-6.6 and N-6.7. The BSH now received the final reports for the protected assets benthos, fish and biotopes. The publication of these final versions of the final reports was announced on 29 July 2022 in the NfS and on the BSH website.

Reference is made to the public notice dated 20 May 2022 concerning the publication of the draft suitability assessments, suitability determination, environmental reports and other decision-relevant reports for the named sites.

The following documents are published:

SiteDocumentDate
N-6.6Final Report Benthos, Fish and Biotopes 2020-2021 (final version, German)29.07.2022
N-6.7Final Report Benthos, Fish and Biotopes 2020-2021 (final version, German)29.07.2022

16.06.2022: New feature “Revision filter” available in the Data Hub Preliminary Investigation of Sites – PINTA

On February 25, 2022, the BSH published the results of the preliminary site investigation for the construction of offshore wind farms in the German exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for the site N-7.2 planned for this year according to the Site Development Plan of the BSH (FEP) via the Data Hub Preliminary Investigation of Sites (PINTA). The sites N-3.5 and N-3.6, which are expected to be put out to tender by the BNetzA in 2023 according to the specifications of the FEP, have also been published.

With the current update of the data hub PINTA it will be possible to use another filter option. Revision information can be displayed in this way. In addition, the revisions will be highlighted separately.

The adjustments in the revision supplement the investigation results and documents of the preliminary site investigation published with the announcement of the invitation to tender for the fulfillment of the legal obligation from Sec. 19 para. 2 no. 7 Offshore Wind Energy Act (WindSeeG). These are findings that have arisen in the meantime in the course of the evaluation of the collected raw data for other purposes. The publication of the revision is on a voluntary basis, the investigation results and documents published with the announcement of the tender remain unaffected.

Now the following revisions are available on the data hub PINTA:

Site N-7.2: Geotechnical Data Report Revision1

The revision to the gDF for FEP site N-7.2 includes adjustments to specifications of laboratory tests (CID,CAUc,CAUe) and adjustments in the presentation of laboratory test results (CAUe, CAUc, DSS). The adjustments contained in this report revision can be found in the revision list of the report.

As well as for the sites:

Site N-3.7: Geotechnical Data Report Revision1

Site N-3.8: Geological Report Revision 1

Site N-3.8: ArcGIS Project Revision 1

Site N-3.8: Kingdom Project Revision 1

27.05.2022: Public display of documents on the suitability examination for sites N-6.6 and N-6.7

On 20 May 2022, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) notified that the draft of the suitability examination, the draft of the determination of suitability and the drafts of the environmental reports for the sites N-6.6 and N-6.7, which will be put out to tender in calender year 2028, are publically displayed in Hamburg and Rostock in the period from 27 May 2022 to 27 June 2022 in German language.

Reference is made to the public notification.

At the same time, the BSH issued an invitation to discuss the comments and statements on the drafts in a discussion hearing on 31 August 2022.

The following documents were published on 27 May 2022:

SiteDocumentDate*
N-6.6 and N-6.7Draft of the Suitability Examination (German)27.05.2022
Draft of the Determination of Suitability (German)27.05.2022
Navigational Risk Assessment (German)27.05.2022
N-6.6Draft of the Environmental Report (German)27.05.2022
Final Report Hydrographic Survey (German)27.05.2022
Draft Final Report Benthos, Fish and Biotopes (German)27.05.2022
Final Report Marine Mammals 2019-2020 (German)27.05.2022
Final Report Resting Birds 2019-2020 (German)27.05.2022
Final Report Migratory Birds 2019-2020 (German)27.05.2022
N-6.7Draft of the Environmental Report (German)27.05.2022
Final Report Hydrographic Survey (German)27.05.2022
Draft Final Report Benthos, Fish and Biotopes (German)27.05.2022
Final Report Marine Mammals 2019-2020 (German)27.05.2022
Final Report Resting Birds 2019-2020 (German)27.05.2022
Final Report Migratory Birds 2019-2020 (German)27.05.2022

20.05.2022: Process to examine the suitability for sites N-6.6 und N-6.7

On 20 May 2022, the BSH notified that the draft of the suitability examination, the draft of the determination of suitability and the drafts of the environmental reports for the sites N-6.6 and N-6.7, which will be put out to tender in calender year 2028, will be publically displayed in Hamburg and Rostock in the period from 27 May 2022 to 27 June 2022.

Reference is made to the public notification.

The draft documents as well as the decision-relevant reports are published here on 27 May 2022 in German language.

25.02.2022: Public display of the documents on the determination of suitability for sites N-3.5, N-3.6 and N-7.2

On 18 January 2022, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) determined the suitability of sites N-3.5, N-3.6 and N-7.2 for tendering by the Federal Network Agency pursuant to Part 3 Section 2 of the WindSee Act by means of a statutory order. The Second Ordinance on the Implementation of the Wind Energy at Sea Act (2.WindSeeV) was published in the Federal Law Gazette (BGBl I 2022, page 58) on 27 January 2022.

In accordance with section 12 paragraph 5 sentence 8 of the WindSeeG in conjunction with section 44 paragraph 2 of the UVPG, the BSH shall make the following documents available for inspection in its libraries:

  • Second Ordinance on the Implementation of the Wind Energy at Sea Act of 18 January 2022
  • Suitability assessment
  • Environmental Report N-3.5
  • Environmental Report N-3.6
  • Environmental Report N-7.2
  • Summary declaration (German)

Reference is made to the public announcement.

Below you will find the documents on display as well as supplementary information:

SiteDocumentDate*
N-3.5, N-3.6, N-7.2Suitability assessment25.02.2022
Suitability determination (2nd WindSeeV)27.01.2022
Supplementary summary environmental statement25.02.2022
N-3.5Environmental report25.02.2022
N-3.6Environmental report25.02.2022
N-7.2Environmental report25.02.2022

* of publication on the BSH website.

25.02.2022: Results of the preliminary investigation of sites N-3.5, N-3.6 and N-7.2 published

The BSH has conducted preliminary investigations of the sites N-3.5, N-3.6 and N-7.2 (bitte Flächenseiten verlinken) in accordance with Sec. 12 para 1 sentence 1 in conjunction with Sec. 10 para 1 of the WindSeeG. The results of the investigations are publicly available via the Data Hub of the Preliminary Investigation of Sites under the link below as of 25.02.2022.

For purely informational purposes, the results of the preliminary investigations of site N-7.2, which is scheduled for tender in 2022, has been summarized in a brochure (only available in German). This can be obtained in printed form from the BSH and downloaded under the link below.

FlächeDokument / Link zum DatenportalDatum*
N-3.5, N-3.6 und N-7.2Access to the Data Hub for Preliminary Investigations of Sites N-3.5, N-3.6 and N-7.225.02.2022
N-7.2Brochure on the results of the Preliminary Investigation of Site N-7.2 (German)25.02.2022

* of publication on the BSH website.

07.10.2021: Feedback request regarding the Data Hub Preliminary Investigation of Sites until October 31th, 2021

The BSH investigates the areas in the German EEZ designated in the Site Development plan for tendering procedure by the BNetzA and wind farm construction.

On February 26th, 2021, with the publication of the results for download for the areas N-3.7, N-3.8 and O-1.3, the data, evaluations and reports of the preliminary investigation were made available for the first time via the BSH's Data Hub Preliminary Investigation of Sites. With the announcement of the results of the first auctions for the pre-investigated areas N-3.7, N-3.8 and O-1.3 using the central model by the BNetzA on September 9th 2021, an important milestone was reached.

In order to further enhance the user-friendliness of the Data Hub Preliminary Investigation of Sites for the upcoming tendering procedures, the BSH is interested in your experiences and kindly requests your feedback by October 31th, 2021 using this questionnaire.

The questionnaire, which is available in German and English, is designed in topic blocks and covers the use of the data hub in general, the provided data from the subsoil with geophysics, hydrography, geotechnic and geodata, the marine environment data as well as oceanography and wind, suitability and environmental assessment. Since it is possible to skip individual topic blocks, it is not necessary to answer all questions. You will need 15 to 20 minutes to answer. The BSH is grateful for your support!

16.04.2021: Procedural instructions for the reimbursement of necessary costs pursuant to § 10a WindSeeG

The BSH provides procedural instructions and forms for the reimbursement of necessary costs for investigations pursuant to § 10a of the WindSeeG.

Erstattung von notwendigen Kosten für Untersuchungen gemäß § 10a Windenergie-auf-See-Gesetz (only available in German)

The following forms have been published (only available in German):

FormDate
Formular für die Einräumungserklärung gemäß § 10a Absatz 5 WindSeeG16.04.2021
Formular Liste der nach § 10a Absatz 2 Satz 2 WindSeeG übermittelten Untersuchungsergebnisse und Unterlagen16.04.2021

16.04.2021: Publication of reports for sites of tender years 2022/23

The BSH published reports relevant to the decision-making process in the context of the procedures for the suitability assessment of areas N-7.2, N-3.5 and N-3.6. The publication was announced on 16.04.2021 in the Notices to Mariners (NfS) and on the BSH website.

Reference is made to the public announcement of 16.04.2021.

Furthermore, reference is made to the public announcement of 12.03.2021 concerning the publication of the draft suitability assessments, suitability determination, and environmental reports for the named sites.

The following documents were published (only available in german):

SiteDocumentDate
N-7.2Endbericht Benthos, Biotoptypen und Fische16.04.2021
N-3.5Endbericht Benthos, Biotoptypen und Fische16.04.2021
N-3.6Endbericht Benthos, Biotoptypen und Fische16.04.2021