Spain’s 3 GW auction shifted to July 26

The Spanish government has announced the official date of this summer’s 3 GW power auction for large-scale wind and solar power projects. The auction, which will now be held on July 26, was previously unofficially scheduled for July 18, according to the draft resolution of the auction presented by the government.

This was confirmed to pv magazine by the Spanish solar association UNEF, following the publication of several media articles citing a statement from the country’s Minister of Energy, Tourism and the Digital Agenda, Álvaro Nadal.

The minister has also said this auction will have a more balanced approach towards the two technologies eligible to compete. In the latest 3 GW auction, which was held in May and was the first of its kind for renewable energies in Spain, 99% of the allocated capacity was for wind power projects. This disappointing result for solar was mainly due to the bidding rules that made wind prevail in the case of a tie between the bids.

In this auction, however, bidding rules may be more favorable to solar, as the government has raised the maximum discount that can be offered by project developers for both wind and solar projects.

If the discounts don’t reach the maximum allowable value, PV will have an advantage over wind. But if there is a tie, wind would prevail, as standard wind projects provide more forecast operational hours, and that will be the tie-breaking criterion.