The Federal Network Agency of Germany (BNA) has awarded tenders for the development of 128 MW of ground mounted PV systems for an average price of 7.41 euro cents per kWh.
The German regulator had received 108 bids for a total capacity of 540 MW. Out of this 16 bids were rejected for not meeting the eligibility requirements. Only 21 bids qualified. The winners will be announced on April 29, 2016.
Among the 21 awarded bidders 10 were for projects on agricultural land. The volume of these bids was 70 MW, although up to 100 MW was on offer for such projects on agricultural land. " This was less than expected ," said said BNA President Jochen Homann. However, the upcoming bids in 2016 won't be open to systems on agricultural land anymore.
The pay-as bid auction has lead to an average price of 7.41 euro cents per kWh, which is much lower than the average prices in last year's three auctions. In the third auction of 2015, the average BNA offer was 8 euro cents, 8.5 euro cents in the second, and 9.2 euro cents per kWh in the first round. In fact, the lowest awarded bid in the latest round was only 6.94 euro cents per kWh. "The drop in prices again is a clear evidence of the competitive pressure in the market," said Homann. "This has led to a renewed reduction in the price level," he added.