• Solar PV emerged as the clear winner in Germany's first joint auction for solar and onshore wind power technologies
  • Solar won all 210 MW
  • The tender for original 200 MW capacity was oversubscribed - the German Federal Network Agency received bids totaling 395 MW
  • Average winning bid in the tender was €0.0467 ($0.058) per kWh
  • Of the 32 awarded projects, five projects with 31 MW of cumulative capacity will be built on arable and grassland on so-called disadvantaged land in Bavaria

Germany’s energy regulator Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has awarded PV the entire 200 MW capacity it tendered in the first joint auction for onshore wind and solar. Solar lapped up even a little more than the original capacity.

The agency had tendered 200 MW capacity as part of this tender (see Germany Launches Joint Wind/Solar Tender). But finally it awarded 210 MW to 32 projects. The winners list is available on the Bundesnetzagentur’s website.

Solar offered the lowest cost in the tender, hence it was awarded the entire capacity, said Bundesnetzagentur’s President Jochen Homann.

For the tender, the highest and lowest tariff offered by developers ranged between €0.0396 to €0.0576 ($0.049 to $0.071) per kWh. The average price for solar PV bids in the joint tender was €0.0482 ($0.059) per kWh. The average winning price was €0.0467 ($0.058) per kWh.

In this technology neutral solar/wind tender, the average was a little higher than the average winning bid of €0.0433 ($0.0534) per kWh achieved during the last large scale PV-only tender, which was concluded in February 2018 (see Lowest PV Bid Below €0.04 In Germany).

The tender was oversubscribed by nearly 2 times, reaching 395 MW. The agency received a total of 54 bids, including 18 for onshore wind and 36 for solar PV. Only three bids were excluded for formal reasons; the agency didn’t specify the reasons.

Of the 32 awarded projects, five projects with 31 MW of cumulative capacity will be built on arable and grassland on so-called disadvantaged land in Bavaria. Another three projects with 17 MW will be located in another southern German state – Baden-Wurttemberg.

Most of the winning projects will be located in the existing distribution network. Winning 12 out of the awarded 32 projects, Enerpac from Hamburg led the tally of winners, while IBC Solar from Bavaria won four projects.

 The second German joint auction round for wind and solar power technologies will be held on November 1, 2018. The next PV-only tender will be launched on June 1, 2018.