After last year's decline, prices in German solar auction stabilize

Germany is set to hold three rounds of auctions this year to support ground-mounted solar projects, as in previous years. The first took place in early March, with the other two scheduled for the second half of the year. Despite a drop in the volume of bids submitted compared with the previous round, the prices awarded changed little. As in the previous round, they averaged slightly above 50 EUR/MWh.

Germany had originally planned to offer more than 8 GW of capacity in three separate auctions for ground-mounted solar power plants this year. However, the regulator adjusts the volumes offered at auction according to established rules, and reduced the volume in the first round to 2.23 GW. Despite the cut from the initially planned 2.7 GW, the auction offered a volume almost half again as large as that in the previous two rounds.

According to Germany's grid regulator, Bundesnetzagentur, 569 projects with a total installed capacity of almost 4.1 GW were entered in the auction. However, the regulator had to exclude 39 bids with a total capacity of 330 MW. Compared with the previous round, which attracted projects totalling almost 5.5 GW, this represents a significant drop, although investor interest remains relatively strong.

"The auction continues to attract very strong participation. For four rounds now, the volume of bids received has significantly exceeded the volume offered at auction. Despite the increased auction volume, competition in this segment remains stable," said Klaus Müller, president of Germany's grid regulator.

Awarded prices ranged from 36.2 to 54.9 EUR/MWh, with a weighted average of 51.1 EUR/MWh. Compared with 51.7 EUR/MWh in the previous round, awarded prices therefore changed little. As in previous rounds, projects in Bavaria (806 MW) dominated, followed by the federal states of Schleswig-Holstein (221 MW) and Lower Saxony (199 MW).