Germany held its first solar auction of the year and as a result, 24 bids for large-scale projects of over 750 kW were accepted, amounting to a new capacity of 178 MW. The average rate was 4,80 cents per kWh.

Germany held its first auction of 2019 for solar and wind energy projects. Large-scale PV projects of over 750 kW were particularly successful, with 24 bids being accepted. In total, 80 bids were made, for an overall capacity of 465 MW. The successful bids amount to 178 MW. Two bids were excluded due to formal errors.

Projects located in Bavarian rural areas

The awarded projects were mostly located in remote farmland areas that are often at an economical disadvantage. 21 of the 24 successful bids will be realised in such locations in the Bavarian countryside. However, successful bidders still have to provide an additional collateral before starting. The due date for this is 6 March 2019.

As a matter of fact, Bavaria was the most successful state in this auction, having been chosen as the location for as many as 22 of the 24 awarded projects. This is due to the federal state‘s decision to support renewable energies by providing rural land for installations under a new clause from 2017. The 22 new projects will already occupy 70 percent of the allotted space.

Prices keep increasing with an average rate of 4,8 cents per kWh

As before, the prices keep following an increasing trend. While the average rate in October 2018 was 4,69 cents per kWh, this current round scored an average price of 4,8 cents per kWh (with an actual range of 4,11 to 5,18 cents per kWh).

Auctions lacking competition

Comparable to the situation experienced with the most recent solar auctions, wind energy is facing a similar trend of lacking competition. As a matter of fact, the most recent call for tender only received 72 bids with an overall capacity of 499 MW, while 700 MW were budgeted. The average price reached here was of 6,11 cents per kWh.

Further tenders upcoming

At the time being, two more tenders are running and bids can still be made. The first is a special tender and ends on 1 March 2019. Projects of up to 500 MW can participate. The second is an auction for both solar and wind projects and the first round is still running until 1 April 2019. Last year, all awards of this auction went to solar, and it remains to be seen if this trend will continue