German rooftop solar auction attracts strong interest again

The first auction round this year for solar PV on rooftops and noise barriers was held in Germany in February. The auction attracted strong interest, with the volume of projects submitted rising again compared with the previous auction. Awarded prices fell only slightly; compared with ground-mounted installations, they remain significantly higher.

Germany has scheduled a total of three auction rounds this year for solar PV installations on building rooftops. Each round was originally due to offer 300 MW for bidding, but the regulator reduced the volume to around 260 MW. According to the German grid regulator, 194 projects with a total installed capacity of 378 MW were submitted for the first round. However, the regulator disqualified nine projects for failing to meet the requirements.

A total of 125 projects with a capacity of 264 MW secured support in the auction. Awarded prices ranged from 69 to 94.8 EUR/MWh, with a weighted average of 89.2 EUR/MWh. Compared with the previous round, when the average was 95.8 EUR/MWh, prices fell by almost seven percent.

Regionally, successful projects were more evenly distributed than, for example, in wind power auctions, which are dominated by the north of the country. The largest share of capacity went to Lower Saxony (58 MW), followed by North Rhine-Westphalia (45 MW) and Bavaria (27 MW).