Germany’s 1.125 GW PV Auction Undersubscribed

• Germany's June 1, 2022 auction for ground mounted solar PV capacity was undersubscribed with only 714 MW capacity as compared to 1.126 GW on offer
• Bundesnetzagentur selected 109 bids for 696 MW capacity with Bavaria claiming 399 MW alone
• The agency believes one of the reasons for undersubscription could be the increase in annual auction capacity from 1.85 GW awarded in 2021 to 3.6 GW to be auctioned in 2022
• Supply chain challenges that make it difficult for developers to secure modules on time and price fluctuations were cited as probable reasons for this low turnout

Germany's Bundesnetzagentur or the Federal Network Agency expects an increase in annual tender volume for solar to 3.6 GW in the country in 2022 along with difficulties faced by developers in placing binding module orders and unpredictable prices as reasons for undersubscription of its June 1, 2022 tender.

Launched in April 2022 with 1.126 GW on offer and tariffs capped at €0.057 per kWh, the German ground mounted solar PV auction was undersubscribed for probably the 1^st time with 116 bids coming in for a total of 714 MW capacity (see 1.12 GW Solar Tender Launched In Germany).

The Federal Network Agency finally selected 109 bids for 696 MW capacity.

In terms of geography, maximum capacity was selected for projects in the southern state of Bavaria with 399 MW, followed by 72 MW in Schleswig-Holstein and 45 MW in Lower Saxony. When divided among categories, 372 MW has been contracted to come on arable land or grassland with Bavaria staking claim to 297 MW.

The lowest and highest winning bids ranged too went up to between €0.0487 per kWh to €0.0569 per kWh and weighted average winning bid was €0.0551 per kWh. In the previous round, the weighted average was €0.0519 per kWh (see Germany Awards 1.08 GW Solar In Auction).

The list of winners and winning projects is available on the agency's website.

The next round of tenders for ground mounted solar systems is now scheduled for November 1, 2022, however the agency added that the date needs to be approved by the European Commission under state aid regulations to become final.

Recently, local developer juwi AG called upon the German government to extend the commissioning deadlines for solar and wind energy projects under the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) by 12 months as developers face supply chain disruption and material bottlenecks thanks to the war in Ukraine and general material shortage in the industry (see Juwi Demands Deadline Extension For RE In Germany).