North Rhine-Westphalia freezes development to protect Windader West energy corridor

The development freeze prohibits any changes to the designated areas that would significantly increase their value or substantially hinder the implementation of the planned offshore Windader West project. Specifically, it is forbidden to intensify agricultural or forestry use, construct or expand buildings, or lay pipelines. The freeze takes effect on April 7, 2026, and will remain in place for three years.

The development freeze, including the associated map, is currently available on the Münster Regional Council's website until April 22, 2026, at www.ourwebsite/procedures-and-notices/procedure-overviews under the "Energy Lines" section, listed as "Development Freeze – Windader West."

The overall Windader West project comprises four offshore grid connection systems: Kusenhorst, Rommerskirchen 1, Rommerskirchen 2, and Niederrhein. Windader West is designed to transmit offshore wind energy from North Sea wind farms to consumption hubs in North Rhine-Westphalia. The exact route of the transmission corridor will be finalized during the upcoming formal planning approval procedure. For the section south of Heiden, Amprion Offshore GmbH plans to submit an application to initiate the planning approval process in the third quarter of 2028.