Prices in German rooftop solar auctions rise again despite record interest

Germany has held its third and final auction this year to support the construction of photovoltaic power plants on rooftops and noise barriers. Interest in these auctions is strong, with the volume of bids submitted in recent rounds exceeding the auction volume by more than half. Despite a record-high volume of projects submitted, prices for rooftop solar in German auctions have not fallen this year. After falling for the first time, they have instead stagnated or even edged up.

At the beginning of October, Germany held the last of this year’s three rounds of separate auctions for photovoltaic installations outside open spaces. In addition to rooftop systems, developers of solar installations on noise barriers can also compete in these auctions. As in the previous round, the regulator again offered 258 MW of capacity for bidding.

Interest in the final round was exceptionally strong, with developers submitting projects with a total installed capacity of 434 MW. The volume of projects was the highest ever in this type of auction, exceeding the auction volume by almost 70%. However, as is customary, the regulator had to exclude several bids because they did not meet all the requirements. In the end, 192 projects with a total capacity of almost 400 MW competed for support.

A total of 119 projects were successful in the auction, the same number as in the previous round, with a combined capacity of 259 MW. The awarded prices ranged from 74.5 to 96.9 EUR/MWh. Their weighted average reached 90.4 EUR/MWh, only slightly higher than the 89.4 EUR/MWh recorded in the June round. As in the previous round, projects in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia dominated (58 MW). Bavaria came second this time (48 MW), followed by the federal state of Baden-Württemberg (24 MW).