[bjornsing]

From 5:

> With the award, the successful bidders are entitled to the implementation of a planning approval procedure for the construction and operation of wind turbines on the site as well as the right to connection and grid connection capacity, the agency said.

So how much will that grid connection cost?

It would be great if these auctions were “clean”, in the sense that no taxpayer money would be needed to build these offshore wind farms. But I doubt that is the case.

[Gwypaas]

In Sweden the grid connection for off-shore wind farms have been said to be in the 15-30% range of total cost.

On the other hand, the question is where the grid ends and a power plant begins. Previously when the grid owners and power generators were the the same utility the question did not matter, grids were built to accommodate the locations of nuclear plants.

Countries have gone in different directions on this. In the UK the off-shore wind farm builders are responsible for their grid connections while in Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands the grid operator pays for it.