With the growing role played by wind energy, sites for the construction of wind farms are becoming a sought-after resource, especially in relation to off-shore wind. Where wind farm operators may previously have asked for subsidies, they are now prepared to pay for access to possible sites.

National governments resort to auctions for the allocation of these scarce public resources. The design of such processes has to take account of the specific needs of operators and the nature of the sites offered and to ensure that newly constructed capacity can be integrated into the transmission grid.

We were commissioned by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency – a part of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy – to look at options for auctioning multiple permits for the construction of off-shore wind farms. The report setting out our recommendations can be found here.