Assessment of strategic stakeholder needs, environmental conflicts, and acceleration potentials in energy network planning and implementation to safeguard the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site

With this invitation to tender, the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat (CWSS), on behalf of the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation (TWSC), seeks a qualified consultant or consortium to carry out a comprehensive study on linear energy infrastructure near and below the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site, including high-voltage cables and natural gas/hydrogen pipelines. The study will examine the challenges related to adequate integration of nature conservation requirements, as well as conflicts, barriers, bottlenecks, and risks affecting the planning, permitting, implementation, operation, and maintenance of energy infrastructure . Building on existing studies and informed by surveys and interviews with key stakeholders, the consultant will assess knowledge gaps, coordination and cooperation challenges, socio-economic conflicts, environmental risks, and relevant legal and administrative frameworks. Based on this analysis, the consultant will identify actionable acceleration potentials and propose common, cross-border approaches to strengthen governance and collaboration for nature-friendly infrastructure development. The study will further identify strategic entry points within offshore wind development and energy planning processes where the TWSC can engage constructively, in line with its mandate to safeguard the Outstanding Universal Value of the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site. The purpose of this work is to provide analysis and recommendations to support decision-making and cross-border coordination on energy infrastructure crossing the Wadden Sea. Its primary aim is to identify acceleration potentials (opportunities to reduce avoidable delays, uncertainty, and procedural friction in the planning, permitting operation and decommissioning of linear energy infrastructure) while fully safeguarding the Outstanding Universal Value of the Wadden Sea and all applicable environmental protections. The selected consultancy or consortium of consultants should be able to demonstrate: - Proven experience relevant to the assessment of linear energy infrastructure in sensitive marine and coastal environments. - Proven experience in analysing stakeholder needs, identifying conflicts and bottlenecks, and developing policy-relevant recommendations - Knowledge of the ecological, legal, and administrative characteristics of the transboundary Wadden Sea region. Bidders are encouraged to build a multinational consortium. The UNESCO Wadden Sea World Heritage area is a multifaceted dynamic natural system. The site stretches along the southern North Sea Coast from Den Helder in the Netherlands via Germany to Esbjerg in Denmark. It is the commitment as well as the common responsibility of the states in the TWSC to do their utmost to maintain the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the site. Additionally, major parts of the Wadden Sea are designated as national parks, nature reserves, and Natura 2000 sites. The present-day management system of the Wadden Sea World Heritage Area is almost entirely covered by EU law and international conventions, in addition to national regulations. The Wadden Sea is a transition zone between the growing number of offshore wind energy production sites in the North Sea and the main distribution and consumption centres on the mainland. Hence, it is a crossing and landing area for high-voltage power subsea cable systems, as well as (historically) natural gas pipelines feeding in from the gas fields in the North Sea. Experimental technologies including Hydrogen and Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) technology are also in development in the area. The acceleration of wind energy in the North Sea is a fundamental pillar of the EU"s binding targets to produce 42.5 % of gross final energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030. The member countries of the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NCES) have also set ambitious targets for offshore wind development in the North Sea by 2050. Within this context, the project "North Sea wide acceleration of LANding offshore energy while mitigating Impact on the Coastal Environment" (LANICE) was started in 2024 to improve knowledge of the key environmental impacts of linear energy infrastructure, provide guidance on successful impact mitigation, as well as to propose ways that member countries can improve efficiency in permitting as well as bring the voice and perspective of the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site into the planning process in a timely way. The project supports the implementation of the Wilhelmshaven Declaration as well as The SIMP Integrated Management Plan for the ONE Wadden Sea World Heritage 2023 (Key topic Energy). The project is financed by the NextGenerationEU project via the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation (TWSC). As part of the LANICE project, a draft Trilateral Renewable Energy Strategy was developed in response to the World Heritage Centre (WHC) request (para 12 a) in Decision 46 (COM 7B.51). The aim of the strategy is to identify solutions that ensure the protection of the property"s OUV and to help avoidance and mitigation of negative impacts of onshore and offshore renewable energy and transition infrastructure, while acknowledging the acceleration of offshore energy development. The Strategy was endorsed by the WSB 47 0n 20 November 2025 for stakeholder consultation. After the consultation phase of the draft Esbjerg Declaration, the updated Trilateral Renewable Energy Strategy is intended to be adopted by the three governments at the Trilateral Governmental Council meeting in May 2026 in Esbjerg, Denmark The work will also build on previous work carried out under the LANICE project, which identified and broadly described the main environmental impacts of cables and pipelines crossing the Wadden Sea, and provided a high-level overview of the main assessment approaches, including ecological assessment, identification of potential impacts, and technical mitigation options.