Renewable energy major RWE is positioning more than 3 GW of new gas-fired capacity and over 2.5 GW of wind projects for upcoming European energy auctions as it implements a €42 billion investment programme covering renewables, flexible generation and electricity grids.
The German company has 10.3 GW of renewable energy, battery storage and flexible-generation capacity under construction. It has also secured future income for more than 15 GW through Contracts for Difference, capacity payments and power purchase agreements.
RWE Targets German Gas and Capacity Auctions
RWE has more than 3 GW of new gas-fired generation capacity ready to bid in Germany’s new-build flexible-generation auctions. The first two auctions are scheduled for September 8 and December 29, 2026, with 4.5 GW available in each round.
Bids will be capped at €244 per kilowatt annually. Qualifying long-duration plants must supply at least 80 percent of their contracted capacity continuously for 10 hours and be able to repeat delivery following a three-hour lead time.
Gas-fired projects must be capable of conversion to hydrogen. The contracted capacity is required to become available from November 1, 2031, with capacity payments extending for 15 years.
Germany plans another 2 GW auction on May 18, 2027. Additional rounds are scheduled for December 1, 2027, under the T-4 framework and October 1, 2029, under T-2, although their volumes have not been finalised.
RWE has more than 6.5 GW of existing assets potentially eligible for the future German capacity market. The company aims to develop around 3 GW of new gas-fired generation capacity in the country.
RWE separately secured 820 MW through a German capacity-reserve tender involving three gas units at its Gersteinwerk facility. The plants will receive €100 per kilowatt annually for providing reserve capacity between October 2026 and September 2028.
Netherlands Plans Capacity Auction in 2028
RWE has more than 3.5 GW of existing generation capacity that could participate in the Netherlands’ proposed technology-neutral capacity market.
The first auction is scheduled for 2028, with the initial one-year commitment period expected to begin during 2029. These early auctions will primarily support existing plants, while later rounds are expected to encourage investment in new generation capacity.
Participating plants in Germany and the Netherlands must comply with the European capacity-market emissions limit of 550 grams of carbon dioxide per kWh. This requirement generally excludes coal- and oil-fired generation.
RWE Secures CfDs for 6.9 GW of UK Offshore Wind
RWE secured 20-year Contracts for Difference for five major offshore wind developments with potential capacity of up to 6.9 GW in the UK’s Allocation Round 7.
The projects will receive an inflation-linked electricity price of £91.20 per MWh, based on 2024 prices. The winning portfolio includes Vanguard West, Vanguard East, two Dogger Bank South projects and Awel y Môr.
Vanguard West and Vanguard East have the potential to deliver up to 3.1 GW, with 2.8 GW currently planned. RWE is developing the projects with KKR, which will acquire a 50 percent interest. Vanguard West is scheduled to become fully operational in 2029, followed by Vanguard East in 2030.
The two Dogger Bank South wind farms have combined planned capacity of 3 GW. Masdar owns a 49 percent interest in the projects, which are expected to be completed around the beginning of the next decade.
Awel y Môr is planned as an 800 MW offshore wind farm that could begin operating in 2031. RWE owns 60 percent, Stadtwerke München holds 30 percent and Siemens owns 10 percent.
RWE is also preparing more than 2.5 GW of eligible new offshore and onshore wind projects for the UK’s Allocation Round 8 auction in 2026.
Solar and Onshore Wind Projects Win UK Contracts
RWE secured UK CfDs for five solar projects representing 215 MW and three onshore wind projects totalling 76 MW. Together, the eight projects will deliver 291 MW of new renewable capacity.
The solar projects secured an inflation-linked price of £65.23 per MWh, while the onshore wind farms received £72.24 per MWh, based on 2024 prices.
RWE Secures 6,373 MW in UK Capacity Auction
All 42 RWE assets entered in Britain’s March 2026 capacity-market auction qualified for capacity payments. The company secured 6,373 MW at a clearing price of £27.10 per kilowatt, based on 2024 prices and adjusted for inflation.
The capacity must be available from October 1, 2029, to September 30, 2030. The successful portfolio primarily comprises gas-fired generation but also includes 14 hydroelectric plants, four wind farms and two new battery projects.
Four upgraded gas units received three-year capacity agreements, while one of the battery projects secured a 15-year contract.
RWE Has 10.3 GW Under Construction
RWE had 10.3 GW of capacity under construction as of June 30, 2026, comprising:
3.1 GW of offshore wind
1.4 GW of onshore wind
2.3 GW of solar power
500 MW of battery storage
3 GW of flexible generation and hydrogen-ready capacity
Its operating portfolio increased from 40.4 GW at the end of 2025 to 41 GW at the end of June 2026. Combining operational assets with projects under construction takes RWE’s portfolio to approximately 51.3 GW.
RWE commissioned 752 MW during the first half of 2026. The progressive commissioning of the Sofia, Thor and Nordseecluster A offshore wind farms is expected to support future earnings.
New generation projects that reached final investment decisions from the beginning of 2025 achieved an average internal rate of return of 9.9 percent. RWE expects to make its first final investment decisions on US flexible-generation projects by the end of 2026 and has signed a gas-turbine reservation agreement.
The company has also reached a settlement with the US administration concerning offshore wind leases and invested in US liquefied natural gas infrastructure.
RWE Investment Rises 34 Percent to €7.18 Billion
RWE’s gross cash investment increased 34 percent to €7.18 billion in the first half of 2026 from €5.364 billion a year earlier. Net investment after divestment proceeds reached €6.978 billion, compared with €5.328 billion.
Under a separate company measure that adjusts for additional items, RWE reported net investment of €6.3 billion for the six-month period.
Investment in property, plant, equipment and intangible assets reached €5.359 billion, up from €5.252 billion. Offshore Wind received €2.916 billion, while investment in Onshore Wind and Solar increased to €2.034 billion from €1.851 billion.
RWE allocated €283 million to Flexible Generation, €17 million to Supply and Trading and €109 million to Phaseout Technologies.
Major projects receiving investment included the 1,080 MW Thor offshore wind farm in Denmark and Germany’s Nordseecluster A and B projects, which have capacities of 660 MW and 900 MW, respectively. RWE also invested in UK offshore development and wind, solar and battery-storage projects across Europe and the US.
Investment in acquisitions and financial assets surged to €1.821 billion from €112 million, including €1.707 billion allocated to Other and Consolidation. Offshore Wind received €39 million, Onshore Wind and Solar €7 million, Supply and Trading €32 million and Phaseout Technologies €36 million.
RWE Plans €42 Billion Investment Through 2031
RWE plans net investment of €42 billion between 2026 and 2031. The programme excludes the €3.6 billion purchase price for an additional 35 percent interest in Amprion.
The investment plan comprises:
€17 billion for US power generation
€9 billion for European flexible generation
€7 billion for European wind and solar
€7 billion for regulated grid infrastructure
€2 billion for offshore wind
The Amprion transaction increases RWE’s interest in the German transmission-system operator to around 55 percent. On a pro-rata basis, RWE’s indirect stake was reported at 55.5 percent.
Amprion operates an 11,000-kilometre extra-high-voltage network supplying around 29 million people and major industrial areas in Germany.
RWE targets an average return on equity above 8 percent from regulated grid infrastructure and an average internal rate of return above 8.5 percent from new power-generation projects.
Around 96 percent of eligible RWE capital expenditure was aligned with the EU Taxonomy during the first half of 2026, based on an investment value of €6.115 billion.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH