Prices in auctions for PV with storage continue to stagnate

Two rounds of innovative auctions were held in Germany again this year, in which renewable energy developers compete for operating support. These auctions concern renewable energy sources combined with short-term storage and, although they are technology-neutral, solar power has dominated them from the outset. While prices fell sharply in recent years, they have largely stagnated this year, as data from the September round also confirm.

At the beginning of last month, Germany held this year's second and final innovative auction. Only projects combining different renewable energy technologies or including short-term storage can compete in these auctions. For projects equipped with storage, these components must account for at least 25% of the system's total installed capacity and be capable of fully discharging within two hours.

The second round this year offered developers 475 MW of capacity, the same as the first round in May. Interest in the auction was traditionally strong: according to Germany's Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur), developers submitted 53 projects with a total installed capacity of 678 MW. In the end, 32 projects with a capacity of 480 MW won in the auction; all of them were solar PV projects with storage.

According to the German regulator, the winning bids ranged from 45 to 54 EUR/MWh, with a weighted average of 51.4 EUR/MWh. Compared with 53.4 EUR/MWh in the May round, this represents a slight decline. In previous years, however, prices typically fell by around 15% between rounds.