On 2 October 2006 Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel gave the go-ahead for the German offshore wind energy test site in the North Sea off the coast of Lower Saxony.
The Foundation Offshore Wind Energy (Stiftung der deutschen Wirtschaft für die Nutzung und Erforschung der Windenergie auf See), energy utilities EWE, E.ON Energie and Vattenfall Europe plus wind turbine manufacturers REpower and Multibrid have agreed on the central elements in a Joint Declaration. Via a joint venture the public utilities will build and operate twelve 5MW-wind turbines by 2008 at the latest. The investment is expected to amount to around 175 million euro. The Federal Environment Ministry will provide 50 million euro over a period of five years for technology research and development and associated ecological research activities. It will promote in particular research into risk minimising measures and systems engineering, e.g. innovative foundation technologies.
In addition the Foundation and the planners of the seven additional offshore wind parks off the coast of East Friesland have agreed on bundling the cable connections with the help of a joint cable route via the island of Norderney. With this they meet the requirements set by the federal Land of Lower Saxony and the demands of the regional nature conservation associations for such a joint cable route in order to reduce as far as possible the impacts on the Wadden Sea National Park of Lower Saxony.