Germany’s fifth onshore wind-only tender this year was undersubscribed again, while the weighted average bid price fell slightly.
The country’s energy regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) awarded contracts for 74 wind farms totalling 658.65MW. It had received 89 bids for 768.95MW, having initially made 825MW available.
The regulator excluded three bids due to errors in submission, while 12 others were for projects in areas where the grid was not sufficiently expanded.
Successful bid prices ranged between €56/MWh and €62/MWh, with a weighted average of €61.10/MWh. The range widened from €61.70-62/MWh, in the country’s most recent wind-only tender in September, while the weighted average fell from €61.90/MWh.
The auction regulator has previously acknowledged that state-level permitting difficulties were deterring developers from taking part in tenders.
Germany approved a series of climate measures in October 2019, including plans to accelerate permitting. In June 2020, the government agreed to give states the final say on setback distancing, making more sites available.
The regulator added that the most successful bids were for projects in Schleswig-Holstein (23 bids for 108.5MW), followed by Lower Saxony (18 bids for 235.75MW).
A separate, but concurrent solar PV tender for 96.35 MW of capacity received 87 bids for a combined volume of 393.2MW. The regulators awarded 30 projects for a combined capacity of 103.1MW.
Successful bid prices ranged between €49.80/MWh and €53.60/MWh, with a weighted average of €52.30/MWh – slightly down from a €46.90-56.30/MWh range and slightly up from the €52.20/MWh weighted average in the June round.
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